RWBY Tail
by Knell13
Summary: With a new lead making itself known, Ruby recruits her fellow teammates to strike out in a desperate mission to find her missing mother. Dangers compound with dangers, and soon Team RWBY finds themselves in a world shockingly different from their own. What new plights will they encounter as Ruby continues to track her mother's movements?
1. Anima

**A/N:** The following is a joint story between a friend and me. If the writing style ever seems to change, that's why. For the record though, this entire first chapter is written by him, not me. My writing will make itself known in Chapter 2 as I mostly write the Fairy Tail characters while he writes the RWBY characters. Though there are exceptions to that rule. Exceptions that will show up in due time.

* * *

Weiss Schnee dared to take a sidelong glance at her partner, attempting to disguise it by pretending to check the straps of the heavy pack strapped to her back. A small frown turned the pale girl's thin lips- her partner seemed a bit more distracted than usual. While Ruby Rose normally looked a little disheveled with her messily cut dark hair twinged with red, today she looked like she had rolled in bed for hours to achieve a new level of messy that she hadn't even thought possible. And then there were the bags under her eyes. Weiss was no stranger to seeing those bags. Truth be told, Weiss had a few sleepless nights of her own under her belt. But where she would lie there and stare at the ceiling, Ruby would find something to do. More often than not, it was scrawling out some battle plan on the desk next to their bunk beds. Or drawing schematics for weapon upgrades. One time Weiss could've sworn she saw Ruby reading one of Blake's Ninjas of Love books, but she hadn't been entirely sure. But the bags adorning her team leader's face looked a lot more fresh. It didn't take a professional to see that she hadn't slept a wink last night.

Weiss' heart went out to Ruby. Though they hadn't exactly met on the best terms, the two had eventually formed a close friendship and partnership, and dare she say it, she saw Ruby as close as a sister. Or maybe something more... But now was neither the time nor the place to focus on those kinds of thoughts. Ruby needed her. She needed her and Blake and Yang. Both for emotional support and for the dangerous task at hand.

* * *

"...I found out where Mom was last," Ruby Rose had revealed at breakfast two weeks ago. Several forks and jaws had been dropped in surprise. While the team had known that Ruby's mother had disappeared some time ago, little was known about the exact circumstances aside from the fact she had gone out on a top secret mission from Professor Ozpin. But now that he was dead, no one was left alive who could give the quartet any information.

Well, perhaps there was someone. Ozpin still existed in Oscar, to some degree, so if anyone had the best chance of weaseling the information out of him, it was the farmboy. And it had been that very boy that had practically knocked their door down to talk to Ruby the night before.

Yang was the first to find her voice. "Are you sure you found the right place?" Her tone seemed slow and deliberate, like she was trying to control the storm of emotions brewing inside her. Yang had spent a good chunk of her early years trying to find out what had happened to Summer, but her findings had more often than not led to absolutely nothing.

"...Oscar told me. So I think it's gotta be pretty accurate," Ruby responded, pretending to be interested in the barely-touched bowl of oatmeal in front of her.

Silence pervaded the small dining room, only broken when Ruby chose to speak again. "Ozpin had... reports on strange activity in a cave in southern Vale. Something about energy spikes and readings like nothing he'd ever seen before. So he sent Mom to investigate..." Content with abandoning her oatmeal, Ruby's calloused hands found the edges of the white cloak- the only thing she had to remember her mother by- and wrapped it tighter around her body. Normally, doing this made it feel like her mother was giving her a warm hug. But now... it just felt empty. It felt wrong. Like there was something that didn't add up. If her mother was truly gone, she would know, right? She needed answers. And only one place could give her them. "Guys... I want to go to that cave."

Wide-eyed lilac orbs met with her younger sister's gleaming silver, and Yang immediately understood the reason behind this quiet determination emanating from the young Rose. Ruby had never given up on finding out about Mom's fate. Not... not like she had. A pang of guilt caused a frown to dampen her normally cheery face. How could she give up so quickly? Ruby barely remembered her mother and still hadn't given up. What kind of older sister, no, what kind of daughter would she be to stop trying to find her mom? Yes, Raven had birthed her. But Summer had raised her. If anyone was qualified for the role of Mother, it was Summer. And Yang was not going to give up on her ever again. "Then that's what we'll do, Ruby. We'll find Mom together."

A small smile from the cat-eared Blake Belladona sitting across from Yang preceded her own call, "I can't exactly let my partner go into the unknown without me. I'm in too."

Weiss, likewise, asserted her desire to go as well in the Weissiest way possible. "Well if you're going then I'll go to. Somebody has to watch Ruby's back, after all."

The beginnings of tears stirred in Ruby's eyes. She almost couldn't believe it. The fire in Yang's eyes, the compassion in Blake's, and the unbreakable bonds of friendship that Weiss had failed to hide... Maybe it could be possible if she had the three of them with her. She had already prepared herself mentally be dressed down by them. Scolded for daring to take on such a daunting and potentially deadly task so soon after their last bout with danger. But the overwhelming support? She had never dared to expect that. "You guys..." she murmured, a sheen of pink coloring her cheeks, "you're gonna make me cry..."

Two weeks of hard travel had brought them to where they were now. Somewhere near here, of Weiss was reading their map properly, was the cave that Summer had investigated. Refocusing on the task at hand, Weiss sifted through her pockets and pulled out a few vials of Dust. Nature's Wrath, as some called it, had some interesting properties when mixed. After breaking off from her oh so lovely father, Weiss had dedicated her efforts into creating her own business. Something that would prove that she didn't need his money or influence. She had turned to the one thing she knew best, Dust. While in her training schools, she utilized a rotating barrel to feed different kinds of dust into her blade. She had kept the kinds of dust separate from each other at all times, never tempting fate. But as of late, she had learned just how powerful different mixes of them could be. That had become the source of her new business, an Alchemy shop. Alchemy was the science of dust, and she had made a fair few discoveries of her own in the field, such as the mix she was making in the moment. A little bit of Earth Dust, a bit of Lightning Dust, and just a hint of Gravity Dust could create a very effective makeshift energy detector. Oscar hadn't given them a very specific location, but had said that the energy readings were definitely still wonky. This vial would be their ticket to narrowing it down. The silvery glow it gave off with grow more intense as it approached strong readings.

Which made it an excellent compass.

Giving the vial a shake, Weiss held her arm out in an arc, staring at the silvery glow with a well-trained eye. "Take a wide left turn," she intoned to the others, noting the small increase in luminosity on the right side of the arc.

Weiss wasn't the only one who had changed through their battle with Salem's forces. Daddy's little heiress had transformed into a fierce woman motivated by her heart to improve herself and help others. Likewise, Blake had pushed herself to break her own limits. She walked behind Weiss and Ruby, Yang stomping through the forest at her right. But Blake was not as focused on those immediately next to her as she was on everything else. She had focused the last few months on developing her Faunus abilities. Cats were hunters and trackers by nature, which meant she should be able to take on more of their traits than just the enhanced hearing those extra ears gave her and quicker reflexes her nature blessed her with. Her duty on this trip was keeping watch. For anything. At any time. It was almost like she could see everything in a radius around them. Even if she closed her eyes, she had no doubt she would be able to sense the locations of each of her teammates and the dozen trees on her radar. Her senses had already saved their asses from monstrous Grimm several times over, but she could never be too careful. Grimm seemed to be attracted to the area around the cave, which is why Ozpin had sent one of his most skilled warriors.

This new ability brought her much closer to her heritage. She even hissed a little when she was mad. Or when she sensed large groups of Grimm. Like now. "Tighten the arc. There's a den of Ursa off to the left." She closed her eyes, blotting out her normal senses until all that was left was the barest instincts. "Twenty full grown. No need to waste our energy on them."

"But Blakeyyyy, it would be fun to kick their asses!" whined the blonde beside her. She never really did get Blake's new sense of caution. They were one of Beacon's strongest teams. A group of Ursa should be nothing to them! So what if they had to use up some aura. Besides, she hadn't fought anything all day. Oh she wanted to. But even Ruby had silenced her. Something about 'You can't set fire to another forest, sis.' Bsh. She'd done it one time. One. Time. What's the big deal? She could control her flames so much better now.

Is what she would like to say. But deep down she knew Ruby was right. The intense, fiery aura she had learned to call upon at will may drastically improve her fighting ability, but it did leave her with a bit of tunnel vision. If Yang slipped up, she could very well set the forest ablaze and endanger people living on the edge of it. Or call forth even more Grimm to their location. Powerful or not, large numbers of Grimm were difficult, even for the strongest of Huntsmen and Huntresses to deal with.

"Listen to her, Yang." Ruby glared back at her older sister, an intense glare in her sleepy silver eyes. Dear gods did she want to sleep, but with the answers to the most potent question she had ever dared to ask right in front of her, she couldn't. Even though she was exhausted, her body moved like it had a will of its own. A will it shared with her. A will powered by the white cloak wrapped tightly around her. She was going to find out what happened to her mother. No matter what.

The party traveled in relative silence, with Weiss and Blake chiming in once and awhile to slightly alter their course. Since Ruby's body moved with singleminded purpose, her thoughts were free to roam. What could they find at this cave? Summer had to be still among the living, so where had she been for so long? Would she even remember Ruby when she got there? Okay, maybe that question was a bit silly. Of course she would remember. Ruby and Summer were not just daughter and mother, they were best friends. There was no doubt in her mind that her mother was somewhere out there waiting for her to find her.

Ruby was abruptly yanked from her train of thought by a sudden bombastic explosion beside her- she turned her head to the side moments later, a chuckle caught in her throat. There stood a Weiss who looked like she had taken a dive into a pool of pepper. Soot covered her face and trailed down her pure white dress. The explosion had also blown her hair out of the right bun she had worked it into, giving her this wild, untamed look that honestly had Ruby staring a bit too long. There was just something insanely attractive about her partner when she didn't care about her looks. That said, Weiss would religiously wear her labcoat when working on her research, so she was probably going to be a little angry about her dress getting all dirty.

If she was mad, she didn't show it though. She merely pointed to the cavernous opening to her left. "Uhm. I think we found it..."

Ruby Rose's silver eyes were as wide as dinner plates when she finally noticed the cave herself. Had this been any other mission, she might have geeked out over how cool the massive cave looked or how well it had been hidden in the clifface. If they weren't looking at it from this very angle, they wouldn't have seen the entrance. Though something seemed odd. Far down into the cave, she could see a shimmering light...

She took a few steps closer, wanting to get a better look and- she probably shouldn't have. The instant her dark shoes touched the edge of the cave, she felt a powerful tug on her navel, a force, she realized, her teammates were also feeling. She tried to yell out to them, but the vacuum-like force whipped Wind so strongly around them she couldn't even hear her own voice. Each of the four struggled to hold their ground. Weiss iced herself to a tree, Ruby drove her scythe into the ground, Yang embedded her metal arm in a rock, and Blake drive her sword and sheathe into the hard dirt. But none of those measures were enough to beat the otherworldly forces working on them.

They were sucked, weapons and all, into the streaming vortex giving off that light.


	2. Earthland

"You're going to have to try harder than that, Natsu!" Gray shouted as he avoided a burst of flame from his hot headed rival.

"Why don't you stand still for a minute and let me hit ya?!" Natsu shouted as flames exploded around him.

Gray grinned, having a bit of fun with the whole ordeal. It was certainly a nice change of pace after the whole Grand Magic Games debacle. "No can do. The bet was that you had to hit me with a blindfold on and the winner buys lunch!"

"That'd be easy if you didn't mask your scent with ice, you cheater!" He bellowed before leaping forward and slamming a punch into what he thought was Gray only to realize afterward that it was a tree.

The two were so busy duking it out that they failed to realize the massive portal appearing above them. It was only after a bright flash of light that Gray looked up, only to be clobbered in the stomach by Natsu and sent flying backward while Natsu himself was suddenly buried by four newcomers.

He let out a surprised gasp as he found himself pinned to the ground, still unable to see anything due to his blindfold. All he knew was that the scent of those now on top of him were completely new to him.

"Get off of me!" He shouted. "I was in the middle of something!"

* * *

Somehow, the four had managed to keep hold of their weapons in the chaos. Blake and Weiss managed to sheathe their blades and Ruby somehow folded her scythe up under her cloak.

By the time the wind died down and she could hear her own thoughts again, Ruby felt an odd bit of deja vu. Why was she reminded of orientation? And then she looked down. And saw the massive expanse of sky in between herself and the ground. Oh. That's why. Like some sort of canine cartoon, she only started to fall once more when she realized her plight, tumbling down into a heap with her three teammates. Her silver eyes shut before she hit the ground, hoping that the fall wasn't going to kill them so quickly.

Several seconds of panicked screaming later, Ruby found herself shaking off the jarring landing, not too worse for wear. She blinked, silently wondering how the heck she had survived, but then her hand found something firm and soft. It almost had this supple bounce to it. Absently, she decided to give it a squeeze. Only then did she she realize that she had landed right on top of a pink haired boy. And that he was yelling at them.

And that she had just groped his butt.

* * *

"Expecting some guests?" Gray asked as he approached Natsu who was still yelling up a storm, his clothing only somewhat scuffed from the punch Natsu had landed on him.

"What do you think?!" Natsu shouted before he shoved them off with brute strength. "And they're really bad at listening!" He said as he stood up and removed the blindfold, not really reacting to the fact that his butt had been groped. Dude had been in so many comprising situations with Lucy by this point that he was immune to it.

Yellow eyes narrowed at the four girls. "Who the hell are you?" He asked, being somewhat wary due to the fact that they had shown up out of nowhere.

Gray, in the meantime, was content with observing from afar. If they were enemies, he'd step in, but for now he'd let Natsu handle it.

"What the hell are you yelling at?!" Her eyes shifted to a violent crimson, punctuating her words. Yang seemed to always be the first to recover from shock. Likewise, she was also the one with the shortest temper. Seems like Pinky over here was being just rude enough to trigger that explosive anger of hers. To her credit, at least she hadn't lead with punching the crap out of him. She really wanted to fight something, and if this guy continued to annoy her, she would give him a good lickin'. But there was no point in doing so if they had no fucking clue what was going on.

At least Ruby hadn't run off in the opposite direction. She was... well... never the best when it came to strangers. Frankly, Weiss was the one best suited to socialization. Where Yang would get angry easily and Blake would be content with sitting on the sidelines and not engaging, Weiss seemed to come to conversation easily. Perhaps the high life she had lived with her family had accounted for some of that. She had hated the etiquette lessons at first, and certainly grew bored of her father's parties, but when she acted on her own terms she certainly found what she had learned useful. In a rare case, however, it was Blake who wrangled in the angry blonde, grasping her leather jacketed shoulder.

"Yang, wouldn't it make more sense to simply answer his question?" The Faunus knew that something was a little fishy. Normal caves didn't produce crazy vortexes or drop people from hundreds of feet in the air. And if her observations were worth anything, it was clear from the damage to the two men and the area around them that they were some sort of powerful warriors. What weapons or abilities they employed, she did not know. But making an enemy of them over something stupid was quite possibly the dumbest thing she could ever do.

Blake's words and gentle grip on her shoulder brought a sense of calm over her, and eyes that once blazed red returned to a normal lilac. Taking a glance at her sister, she could see Weiss consoling her, quietly whispering to her and rubbing her back. It was one of the rare moments where Weiss outright showed her care for Yang's little sister. Strangers, potentially aggressors like Pinky and Stoic over there had caused Ruby to fall into panic attacks in the past. Over the year at Beacon and the deadly battles that followed, Yang thought that Ruby had certainly gained a better grasp of her issues, but she still tended to shut down a little. Weiss was a caring hand that could bring her back to equilibrium.

Blake took the silence has her cue to speak. "I'm Blake Belladonna. My friend here is Yang Xiao Long, and the other two are Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose. We're just, ah... dropping by."

Yang raised her eyebrow- was that a joke from Blake? She never made jokes! Oh damn, if only she could record this moment! She could show it to everyone back at home and seriously how much of a riot would it be? Blake was normally so softspoken, only really getting loud when someone tried her patience for too long. And even then, her anger was more subdued. Yang was the one more prone to violent, aggressive anger. Blake was the kind that would shank you in the back if she hated you enough. Huh. She actually managed to do that to Adam. Kinda... morbidly funny how that worked out. "We were investigating a cave in southern Vale and ended up here," Yang continued. She would usually be the next best talker of the group. Probably would be the most charismatic if she wasn't capable of getting angry at the drop of a pin.

"Vale?" Now it was Gray's turn to finally speak up. If these people were actually capable of socializing, then leaving it to Natsu would only cause more trouble. "Never heard of the place." He said as he walked up beside Natsu, hands in his pockets. He studied them for a moment, trying to get a read on the situation. He had always been the more analytical one on the team and usually the one to take charge whenever Erza wasn't around. "Well. It could be that you're from another continent. Sometimes magical portals open up and spit people out at other places."

He extended his hand in greeting.

"But I digress. My name is Gray Fullbuster and the idiot beside me is Natsu Dragneel. We're members of Fairy Tail, a wizard's guild."

"Oi! Who you calling an idiot?" Natsu retorted, orange-red flames suddenly exploding around him as he glared at Gray. "Do we need to finish our fight right here and now?!"

"You." Gray replied in a stern tone, the temperature around him dropping as icicles formed on the ground beneath his feet. "Your temper could have gotten us in trouble. I was going to let you at it because I thought they were enemies, but clearly you weren't perceptive enough to notice they meant no harm from the start."

Natsu slammed his forehead against Gray's. "I'll kick your ass."

Gray grinned in return. "Don't state the impossible."

Yang and Blake exchanged a quick glance. Being able to communicate silently on the battlefield was a trait partners needed to develop, and in a situation like this it proved useful. In the quick look they shared, Yang had asked, 'What? How could these guys not know Vale?' and Blake had likewise replied with a quote from Yang's favorite childhood movie, 'Zwei, we're not in Remnant anymore.'

Though both had been floored when that Gray guy mentioned wizards. And then the two showed off intense elemental powers without a single flare of their aura levels.

"How can you two use magic?" Ruby's quiet, yet cutting words surprised her team members. It usually took far longer for her to acclimate to new people. But even so, Ruby slipped out of Weiss' grasp and took the lead, acting like the team leader she truly was. "Where we come from," she continued, silver eyes gleaming in the sunlight, "Magic is insanely rare... only a select few known as the Seasonal Maidens can use it..." Well. Not entirely true. But she wasn't going to reveal all their cards early. She was smarter than she looked and was already starting to come to the same conclusion as Blake. She just needed some more evidence to confirm it.

"Are you guys idiots, everyone can use magic-" Natsu said before Gray cut him off with a slap to the head.

"Pay attention, Natsu. From their attire, wordplay and reaction to this place. It's clear they're not from Earthland." He muttered. "In fact, I daresay they experienced a similar case to what we did when we were whisked away to Edolas."

He stepped forward once more.

"Is my theory correct?" He asked them. "Is the world you're from not called Earthland?"

This Gray guy was still a little intimidating, but now was not the time for her to be whimpering. Come on, Ruby Rose! You're Team RWBY's fearless leader! When your teammates are in trouble, it's your job as leader to help them out. And getting tossed into another dimension was certainly something she would call trouble. "It isn't. Our world is called Remnant. Or what is left of our world, I should say." Damn. That was a bit cryptic. Maybe she should clear it up a bit. "We recently fought a large-scale war against dark creatures led by an evil... witch... called Salem." She was trying to remain true to the events, but removing all of her world's terminology in hopes of helping these Earthlandians understand it better was proving to be slightly difficult. "We ended up here after finding out that my mother got lost somewhere near this cave. If we ended up here, chances are she did too."

She let out a long sigh of anticipation. Perhaps her question could be answered! Glaring down the two men with intense silver eyes, she uttered, "Do you know a woman called Summer Rose?"

"So it's just as I thought." Gray said as he tapped his arm with his finger. "You guys aren't from around here at all. Well. I can't say I'm exactly an expert on interdimensional travel, but it's not like it's completely foreign to me either. I think you guys should come back to the guild with us, maybe the Master will be able to make sense of your situation."

An eyebrow rose at the girl's sudden inquiry. "Can't say I do, no. Do you know about her, Natsu?" He asked his fiery compatriot.

"Hmmm. Not really. I mean, my name can mean Summer, but I doubt you're looking for me. But hey. I'll help ya look!" He said with a grin. "I'm looking for a parent of mine too. Maybe we can team up and search together!"

Well. That definitely helped clear things up. Though she had to admit, it was odd that they accepted the notion of dimension travel so easily. Had they really dealt with it before? Might be worth asking questions about later. She was sort of glad that this Gray seemed pretty no-nonsense. Reminded her a bit of Weiss from around the time they first met. This Natsu guy seemed far more jokey, almost like a Yang. And it seemed he could understand her plight too. "Thanks for helping us out, Gray, Natsu." A small smile cracked her paled lips. "Teaming up with you could be fun! I'd love to help you find your parent, too." Ultimately, they had similar goals. And that meant they could support each other. Besides, befriending someone that lived in this new world would be advantageous. It, and the seriousness of the situation, had been the main factors in her finally deciding to speak up.

"What's this 'guild' thing?" came Weiss' inquisitive, if slightly bossy tone. Ruby continuously teased her about the fact that, while she had grown far more personable, her voice still had that edge of entitlement. "There's an entire group of you... wizards?"

Natsu couldn't help but smile. "Fairy Tail . . . is our family. We may not be related by blood, but our bond is much, much stronger than that. Everyone there is known to have a tragic past and we all move forward together."

He jerked his thumb toward the insignia on his shoulder.

"This is the symbol that marks you as a member of Fairy Tail. And us members of Fairy Tail will never abandon eachother. Nor will we ignore those who need help. We're used to taking on the sins of others."

Fire danced around him as his happy go lucky smile turned into a far more confident one.

"Because for a Fairy Tail wizard, the true sin is averting one's eyes from those who need help and no longer being able to believe in anything. That's what it means to be a member of Fairy Tail."

The smile on Ruby's face just grew even more. "Fairy Tail is your family and you never avert your eyes from those who need help? Reminds me of the Huntsmen and Huntresses in our world." Taking the lead from Weiss, she silently called her team to formation. Weiss took to the left of Ruby and unsheathed Myrtenaster, Blake stepped to the left of her and drew Gambol Shroud, and Yang took to the left of her and cocked Ember Celica.

"We once were part of a training school called Beacon Academy," continued Ruby, her silver eyes giving off this vibrant, almost fiery light. "We trained to fight creatures known as Grimm, dark beings made off and drawn to negative emotions. We were known as Team RWBY, and we too fought for the sake of others."

Tapping her fingers together and chuckling a little half-heartedly, she added, "We don't really have a team emblem though. I tried to lobby for that with the headmaster, but he never got to it..." The tattoo on his shoulder looked really cool. All she had was her dumb rose emblem on her belt. And the brooch that held her cloak together. But that one wasn't dumb since it was her mom's.

"Then I guess we're more alike than we thought. I can't say I've ever encountered anything like a Grimm, but I'm kind of glad I won't have to." Gray said as he crossed his arms, all of a sudden not wearing a shirt. "But standing around here doing nothing will only waste time. So let's head back to the guild. I'll lead the way."

He turned around only to stop when Natsu tapped him on the shoulder. "What?"

"Gray. Your shirt."

He looked confused for a minute before looking down. "Ah! When the hell did that happen?!"

And that was when three fourths of Team RWBY fell into a deep blush and tried to hide their faces. While the other one fourth, Yang, merely ogled shamelessly. In the back of her mind, she knew that staring was a bit rude, but what remained of her rational mind was easily superseded by the part of her that got all tingly when Blake was only wearing shorts and a sports bra. In this case, Gray had an absolutely stunning set of abs. Which, she reasoned, she could definitely grate cheese on.

Weiss managed to break free first and subsequently knocked sense into everyone by bopping them all on the head. Except Yang. She got two bops on the head. Mostly because Yang didn't stop staring after the first one.

"Hm. That's a first." Gray said with a tilt of his head. "Usually only Juvia reacts that way."

"That's because you strip so often that everyone is used to it by now, Gray."

"Listen, I can't help it! It's par for the course when it comes to an Ice Mage like me! Even Lyon does it!"

"Uh huh."

"Anyways, let's just get going. We can figure all of this out later." He said as he placed his hands in his pockets and began walking away.

Natsu merely snickered before following suit.

"Do you really do it that often? Geez, this dimension has some strange customs," grumbled Weiss, trying to stifle her blush by thinking of something else. Anything else. Zwei playing poker. Cardin wearing a dress. Professor Port in a bikini. ...Ew. On second thought, she preferred to bleach her brain of that last image. While she had never agreed aloud with Ruby's assertions on the portly professor's lack of teaching skills, she certainly had her own issues with the man. And one of her issues was definitely his sense of fashion. And his size. You'd think that years of training would've made him a fair bit more fit, but apparently not.

Yang seemed to have a different reaction. Her voice drew Ruby's attention for a few moments. "Wonder how many other wizards strip~," she mused with a wink, earning herself a playful slap from Blake. The two had been teasing each other left and right with various states of undress for the last month, and Ruby when the two were just going to give it up and start dating already. It was obvious to even someone as dense as she could be that the two were attracted to each other. But it wasn't like Ruby was all that skilled in love. Maybe the two were dating but weren't going public with that knowledge. Or maybe couples behaved like that normally. Really, the closest thing Ruby ever had to a relationship was when she took her scythe to a dance at Signal. What? None of the students in her class seemed any bit serious about being a Huntsman or Huntress. They thought she was weird for spending so much time in the Forge or with the teachers.

She shot her sister one of those looks, you know the ones that only a younger sister can give. A look that said she was totally going to tease Yang about this later. She fell into step behind the two mages, and Weiss, Blake, and Yang soon followed, with the blonde giving a trademark pout.

As they advanced further along the road, each footfall took more effort. Each step felt like she was lifting a ton. By the time Ruby noticed something was wrong, Weiss had already passed out behind her. Blake and Yang soon followed. Before the panic could set in, Ruby felt herself going down. The last thing she noticed before it all went dark was the gleaming silver light emanating from her eyes for just a brief moment.


	3. Connections

Luckily for Ruby, Natsu had reacted fast enough to catch her after having noticed the others collapsing onto the ground. One sniff with his nose told him all he needed to know. "Gray. Their magic levels are dangerously low." He said, his tone serious. "Almost life threatening in fact."

Gray picked up both Weiss and Blake, easily holding them up with one hand each. "I can only imagine it has something to do with how they ended up here. We'll have to get them back to the guild as soon as possible."

Natsu nodded he grabbed Yang with his free hand and they both made their way back to the guild, not wanting any harm to come to their new acquaintances.

* * *

"I've managed to stabilize them." Porlyusica said with a sigh. "You luckily managed to bring them here before their situation got any more severe. Regardless, they'll have to take it easy for sometime." She said before standing up and walking toward the door. "I'm off to get more medicinal herbs. Keep an eye on them for me."

Natsu nodded, having taken them to Fairy Tail's medical ward. Gray had gone to fill their Master in, so he was stuck here on guard duty.

But that's when he found himself staring at the sleeping Ruby's form, a faint memory starting to stir from within him.

"I've seen . . . this face before."

And that was when the young Ruby Rose started to stir, a low, pained groan slipping from her thinly pursed lips. Everything hurt. Everything was sore. If she didn't know any better, it felt like the first time her Aura had been broken, the first time she took the full brunt of an attack. Something she would eventually come to feel several times over during the course of their war with Salem. She curled up on the bed, wrapping the sheets around herself tighter.

Wait. Bed? Sheets? Well, there was certainly something comfy beneath her and something warm wrapped around her. Had those boys brought them to this guild they mentioned? That would make sense. But that didn't explain why they suddenly passed out.

Something felt... off.

She mustered what strength she could and opened her eyes. And then immediately regretted it. By happenstance, she had angled her face to look directly at the bulb of a lamp sitting next to the bed and, upon opening them, got a healthy heap of bright white right in her face. Blinking back the sudden onslaught, she growled in annoyance and rolled her a few inches away. "Natsu?" she muttered, her voice low and weak. Yeah, that was him. Standing by her bedside looking at her funny. "Is... everything okay...?"

"Yeah." Natsu replied automatically, not really noticing that she had spoken to him. "Just . . . a faint memory of a familiar face." He said before shaking his head and realizing that Ruby was actually talking to him. "Ah. Sorry. I was zoning out. Thinking about stuff."

He reached over to the table and held out an Elixir for her.

"Here. I was told to give you this when you wake up. It's an elixir that increases the rate that your magic replenishes itself. It should make you feel better."

He was being uncharacteristically quiet and reserved. But that's because he knew these girls weren't in very good shape and he wasn't about to make a massive dick of himself.

She could definitely understand the zoning out. She was, ah, prone to it herself... sometimes. Anyway, while she was curious about whatever had been distracting him, she figured it was best to take the elixir that he offered her. She couldn't exactly find her mom if she was stuck in a hospital bed. It was a little easier to move now that she was awake, so it hadn't taken too much effort to take the vial and down its contents. The, for lack of a better word, potion seemed to work its magic fast, and Ruby felt her energy returning to her. Actually felt it. Sure, she was used to the feeling of replenishing over time, but feeling it return to her at an actually noticeable rate was weird. And a little tingly. Like when her foot would fall asleep from listening to Port's dumb lectures.

Now that she was feeling a little better, some of the puzzle pieces in her mind revealed themselves. "Natsu? Know how I said people from my world don't use magic? Most use something else. A power born from within that can protect us and enhance our attacks. It's called Aura." Some of those pieces fell together in her mind. "And when I woke up... if felt like I had run out of Aura... even now the energy inside me feels different..." A bit like the power that radiated from her eyes, actually.

Natsu crossed his arms and thought about what she had said. He wasn't exactly a logical thinker like Gray, so it took him a bit longer. Not to say he was stupid, but it was more like he had to divert his brain cells from fighting to actual problem solving.

"Well. It could be that when you got here. This, aura, or whatever you call it, was sucked out of your body and replaced with magic. There was a time in the past when I myself got sucked to another world called Edolas and when I was there, I found myself unable to use magic until I took a special pill. Your situation could be similar to that with the only difference being that aura is similar enough to magic that it could easily be swapped out."

He sighed.

"Or maybe that's a bunch of bull. I dunno. But it's the best idea I've got."

"Sounds like a better idea than anything I could come up with," she reasoned, silently pushing the image of an evil cartoon vacuum sucking out their power out of her mind. He didn't need to know that she hadn't even considered something as simple as changing the power that the container holds. "If Aura or Magic was like... some sort of battery," she reasoned, hoping this world had batteries, "then chances are this world just swapped the batteries on us, like it did with you and that Edolas place..." Maybe it was like the difference between a AA battery and a AAA battery? Eh. Suppose it really didn't matter much now. How it happened wasn't so important as what they were going to do about it.

"We should probably tell the others once they wake up. I can imagine some of them are going to come to a bit of a nasty shock." Yang definitely, as she was used to gaining power from damage done to her aura. And Weiss certainly relied on it to fight. Only she and Blake really didn't directly rely on their aura in combat. The two of them only pulled it up to enact their Semblances or to enhance their or defend against attacks.

Speaking of which. It seems that they had taken her cloak and weapon off her when they put her in bed. "Could you hand me my cloak and my scythe? I..." There was a longing look in her eye, a sense of vulnerability that she had quietly hid before. Truth be told, the two items were like security blankets to her. With the cloak representing her mother and her weapon representing her late uncle.

Qrow's passing had been a startling one. It seemed that, while he had recovered from Tyrion's stinger poisoning him, the venom left lingering in his system had caused some lasting damage. Damage that had led to his end on the battlefield. Had Ruby just been a fraction of a second faster, she may have been able to deflect the blow that he couldn't. But he had been taken from her as abruptly as Summer...

It had been a year since his passing, and she still hadn't fully gotten over it. She had accepted that death was inevitable in war, but she hadn't expected to lose so many that she knew. Velvet, Neptune, Lark... almost every team she knew that had stood with them after Beacon's fall had suffered a loss or two. Some teams had even been completely eradicated.

Crescent Rose had been damaged beyond repair during that battle. At his silent plea, Ruby had taken up Qrow's Harbinger and slew the bastard that killed him in the time it took for his eyes to close for the last time.

Needing time to deal with that loss on her own, she had run off for six months. While her team had certainly been mad at her for ditching so soon, none of them could fault her for it. It was, after all, the first human life Ruby had taken...

Ruby's expression and words struck a chord with Natsu as he quickly retrieved her possessions for her. "I can tell these mean a lot to you." Natsu said as he set them on the bed. "The way you looked when you talked about them, it reminded me of the way I think about my scarf."

A soft smile crossed his face as his hand went to the piece of clothing draped around his neck.

"This old thing is the only item my father left me before vanishing. I don't go anywhere without it." He said before his grip became tighter. "Igneel. I swear I'll find him someday."

A small, forlorn, yet understanding smile found its way across the young girl's face. So it seems Natsu did in fact know how she felt about those items. His scarf was, in a way, similar to her cloak. The one item left that tied them to the parent they care for and lost. "I'm the same way with my mom..." she muttered, pulling the white cloak around her neck and fastening it with the broach, its silver rose-covered cross shimmering in the light overhead. "My Mom wore this cloak when she was my age... it's the one thing I have to remember her by, since she disappeared when I was young..." Well, it would be more accurate to say that everyone thought her dead. But the fact that that portal led here was only proving to Ruby that her gut instinct, the unyielding sense that her mom was still out there, was true.

Hefting the scythe up- with a bit of difficulty, mind you, as she hadn't fully recovered yet- she ran warm hand over its cool, gray metal. "This weapon can transform into a sword, scythe, and a gun. With my own scythe, Crescent Rose, lying in pieces, my uncle gave me Harbinger." Qrow had always talked about how his Semblance just brought him bad luck, yet it still brought him to Ruby whenever she needed his help. But on the other hand, if he hadn't shown to that fight, he probably would have lived. But if he didn't, could she have died? He had taken over the fight to give her a few moments' rest. Shaking off the thoughts, she continued her tale in a lower whisper. "He died in my arms... Told me... 'Keep smiling, Ruby,' and... and..."

Recounting the tale had been too much for her. The tears streamed down her face, casting those vibrant silver eyes in a void of sorrow.

"You shouldn't feel ashamed for crying." Natsu said as he placed a hand behind Ruby's head and gently rested his forehead against her own. It was the same gesture he once did to Lucy when she was in emotional distress. Natsu may like joking around and he may like making light of situations, but he knew when someone needed comfort.

"A month or so ago. A very close friend to me died. But it was her death that allowed us a future. In a way, I think your uncle did the same for you."

The fact that he was still so full of resolve after dropping such a fact was impressive to say the least.

"But I want you to know one thing, Ruby. You can consider Fairy Tail your family. Even if you're not a member, we've got your back."

Two thoughts went through her mind the moment Natsu's forehead touched her own. The first was that he was warm. Incredibly warm, like she was sitting next to a cozy fire. Was that an effect of his fire magic? Possibly. The second thought was not nearly as easy to voice, but it could be summed up as an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. How could someone be so selfless and so strong? Sure, she had done everything she could to keep people alive, but she couldn't be everywhere. She couldn't stop the suffering, no matter how hard she tried. Not even in the final battle. They had accrued a hefty loss on their side, even with the results of her six-month training exile.

But his resolve was, in a way, contagious. Knowing that he could stand strong after just a month, while she still wallowed after a year was... oddly uplifting. If he could do it, why couldn't she? An awkward laugh broke the silence as she wiped the tears on the edge of her cloak. "If only you were with us during the war... I have no doubts your resolve would have led us to great things..."

She flung her arms around him in a tight hug. Hugs were a rare commodity from her. Not in the number of them, no. She gave them frequently. But only a few people had ever received them. Aside from blood relations, she had only given hugs to Weiss, Blake, Penny, and Qrow. Did Qrow really count there? He was as good as family. Same with Weiss and Blake. Really Penny was the only person she had ever hugged that was just a friend. "Thank you, Natsu..."

Natsu wasn't expecting the hug, mostly because rarely anyone hugged him. Hell, the only one who was comfortable doing so was Lisanna. She hugged him a lot. Still wasn't sure if it was romantic or platonic though, she was never clear about that. Part of him believed she just became clingy after being separated from him for so long and he couldn't exactly blame her.

"Don't mention it." He said as he pat her on the head. "Though I suggest you get some more sleep. You'll need it."

Especially knowing how crazy the guild could be.

Seemed like he was about as surprised as she was that she was hugging him. That said, if his forehead felt like sitting near a warm fire, hugging him felt like being wrapped up in a heated blanket. Definitely a feeling she could get used to. She should probably hug him more. For science, obviously. Needless to say, she felt a little disappointed when he pulled away. But he had a point. She should get some rest before daring to meet more strangers.

But if they were any bit like Natsu... She had a feeling she could get along with them.

"Okay... If the others wake up before I do, tell them about the whole magic thing for me..." And with that, she rolled over and succumbed to sleep.


	4. Fairy Tail

The next morning the door to the infirmary opened and Gray strolled in, hands in his pockets. Seemed that everyone was finally awake and if Natsu did his job, they'd be mostly filled in.

"Yo." He said, the temperature in the room dropping ever so slightly due to the nature of his magic. "You guys feeling better?"

Yang leaned back and let out a long, low yawn. Cracking her neck, she grumbled, "If yesterday was like getting hit by a truck, today is feeling more like... glomped by an over-enthusiastic sister." She shot Ruby a joking wink, which the younger girl countered by childishly sticking out her tongue.

"If she's making jokes," reasoned Blake, a small smile pulling at her lips, "then she must be feeling much better." As far as she was concerned, she was ready to keep on going with their mission. Though there was a wrench or two in their plans, which Weiss happened to voice.

The former heiress sat with her legs folded in the center of the bed, quietly meditating. It was an exercise her sister taught her to help draw out her Semblance's power when she had struggled with it as a child. In this case, however, nothing was helping. "I haven't been able to summon a single Glyph and I've been at this for hours. Is it really true that all of our powers are gone?" Well. Perhaps not 'gone' in the traditional sense. Their bodies were filled with magic now, not aura. So the plumbing was different. If that made any sense. Ruby would probably make sense of it.

"It's entirely possible for you to relearn your abilities with magic instead of aura." Gray said, having been filled in by Natsu. "But it'll take a lot of hard work. Especially due to the way things work here."

"There are all sorts of different magic types. For example, I use a type of Molding Magic called Ice-Make."

He placed his right hand, now a fist, into his outstretched left palm.

"Ice-Make: Floor!"

He slammed both hands into the ground and it was instantly coated in a layer of ice.

"It's easier to show it to you first hand than to explain it. I can also melt the ice at will."

He looked up at them. "That's just one example of the many different types of things I can make with my magic and even that's just one type of Molding Magic. Most mages stick to one branch of magic, but it's entirely possible to learn a variety of magical skills. Some even bend all four elements to their will."

"Sounds like its similar in some ways to our world. Using a magical powder we call Dust, we can apply a bunch of elemental effects to things. I've got some bullets that explode in fire, shock enemies in a radius around the impact point, gravity-enhanced piercing bolts- a buncha different options. But each person has their own special power born of their Aura. We call them Semblances." Ruby had taken to being the one to explain the differences and similarities to their world, which neither of the other girls felt like doing. Truthfully, Ruby had the widest knowledge of combat usage of pretty much anything, while they were all more focused on their specialties.

Part of being a strategist and team leader, Weiss reasoned.

Ruby continued, "My Semblance gave me enhanced speed, Blake could make afterimages, Weiss could make magical glyphs, and Yang could stockpile power by getting damaged. Some of us could even combined our Semblances and Dust. I've seen Blake and Weiss both add elemental effects to their powers using it."

"I see. That explains a lot then." Gray said as he scratched the back of his head before making the ice on the ground dissipate. "Anyways. I think it's time you guys met the rest of the guild. They've been interested in your situation, especially the Master."

He turned around and opened the door behind him before facing them again with a smile.

"It's time to meet your new family."

What he meant by that, who knew. But maybe he had discussed something with the Master while they were asleep.

Upon exiting the medical ward, they'd find themselves on the second floor of a mostly wooden building, overlooking a main dining area filled with all sorts of different people. Every single one of them brimming with magic and every single one of them laughing and smiling.

"Yo!" Gray called out. "Our guests are awake! Let's give them a warm welcome!"

The sheer volume of magic struck Ruby like a bright light. Wait, light? Blinking several times over, she realized that yes, she was actually seeing their magic. While she could sense their magic in much the same way she had sensed aura back home, she had never actually seen a brightness inside them. Here, she was almost overwhelmed by the blinding lights of all kinds of colors covering each of the members of Fairy Tail's guild.

"Ruby?" Weiss' gentle hand on her shoulder drew the silver-eyed girl's attention. For a brief moment, she could see a haze of blue energy wishing off of her before all the lights faded. "You alright there? Not light headed or anything?" The concern and care in the former heiress' eyes always brought a smile to Ruby's lips. While Weiss always claimed she was merely doing her job as a partner, it was clear to Ruby that she was doing far more than necessary. Like that time Ruby had been sick in bed for two weeks and Weiss spent every minute of her free time caring for her. Getting her soup, fluffing her pillow, talking to her... It was nice. When Weiss showed how much she truly cared...

"I'm... I'm fine," the Rose mumbled, sliding her hand over to the white-haired girl's and grasping it lightly. It was a silent exchange. She would need her support to deal with meeting all these new people. Something that Weiss never needed to hear aloud. Ruby honestly meant the world to her, she would go to hell and back to keep her safe.

Yang was in her element. Definitely the partier of the group, she saw the large swath of people before her laden with laughs and libations (Big word, yeah. Weiss gave her word of the day toilet paper as a joke) and couldn't help but join them in smiling and waving.

Blake was a fair bit more reserved, spending her time looking over the crowd. Some members seemed a bit more prominent than others, while some almost blended in with the background. A redhead in the crowd seemed to command the most attention. The Faunus decided to keep an eye on her- might be useful to get to know the armored amazon.

"I can only imagine that you must be feeling overwhelmed after such a massive change." An old man's voice said suddenly as a small figure walked up to them. Standing a few feet away was an old man with his hands behind his back, a big fatherly smile on his face.

"I am the Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov Dreyar. Gray and Natsu have filled me in on your predicament. While there isn't much I can do for you now, I can assure you that I will do my best to help you out."

His eyes locked on Ruby.

"And you. I wish to talk to you in private. You are your team's leader, no? It's only natural for a leader to speak to another leader."

Silver eyes grew wide with shock. He wanted to talk? Alone? She supposed his logic made sense. You know, the whole leader-to-leader thing. And she kinda was the highest ranking representative of her dimension. While something like this would have normally made more sense with Ozpin (or, rather, Oscar) talking to Mr. Dreyar, Ruby herself was the closest thing to a school headmaster they had available. Taking a deep breath, she let go of Weiss' hand and locked eyes with her team. "Go have fun and get to know the others. I'll be back when I finish meeting with the guildmaster, okay?"

The other three nodded, and the blonde sister of the leader accompanied it with a cheeky grin. Her little sis was growing up so well! Sure, they had gone through hell and worse several times over to get where they stood, but Yang was amazed with how naturally Ruby took to leading them. She truly was a leader she could trust, and not just because they were sisters.

Makarov would lead her to his office where he would turn to face her, hands still behind his back. "Words cannot describe how much my heart goes out to you." He said suddenly. "Natsu told me everything that happened. To lose your family like that. It is perhaps the worst thing that could happen. But at the same time, I do not blame the actions of those around you. To protect one's children. That's the job of a parent, is it not?"

He sighed. "But that's not the reason I want to speak with you. No. In fact, there are two far more important reasons. The first is . . . I would like to formally welcome you and your team to join Fairy Tail. I could not bear to turn such bright youths like you away, especially when you are in such dire straits. As far as I am concerned, you are already my children."

"And the second reason is-" He took a moment to gather himself. "-I believe I may have met your mother in the past."

Makarov Dreyar had this odd charm to him that had made Ruby like him almost immediately. He had this grandfatherly air to him, but a certain bit of playfulness to. Really, she felt like he was a bit like her father in some ways. Both looked like they could be the life of the party while also being serious enough to talk about dangerous matters in a way that would make even someone like her comfortable discussing them. Her esteem for him rose even higher when he spoke to the toils they had gone through, and how he saw them as his kids already. The offer to join the guild was not a surprise at all, frankly she had been waiting for it for the last few hours. This place was like Beacon hopped up on Dust. Everyone seemed so cool and interesting with a variety of interesting powers and abilities. She absolutely loved hearing about other people's fighting styles- the more about any of them she knew, the better she could combine them when tasked with creating battle strategy.

No, what had surprised her, and slowly drew the growing smile on her face into an odd mix of hope and concern, was his last reveal. "You mean... she was here?"

"That's correct." Makarov said with a nod. "It was about ten years ago, when the youngin's here were still children. A young woman who looked much like you came to my doorstep. She was on death's door, gravely injured. I naturally brought her into the medical ward to get treated. When I asked her questions however, she mentioned that her memory was mostly a haze. All she knew was that she had a family she had to get back to. But she didn't remember where she was from or what her name was."

He stroked his mustache.

"I offered to let her join my guild, but she refused and set off as soon as she had recovered. Another member of the guild who travels a lot, Gildarts, has supposedly seen her in passing, but other than that, there's not much word on her. And I'm afraid, for now, that's all the information I have for you."

The wall right behind Makarov Dreyar seemed all too interesting to her by the time he finished weaving his tale. Slender fingers looked for something to do, anything to do, to beat past the growing sense of awkward. If this woman that had suddenly appeared was in fact her, then she didn't even remember who she truly was. Where could she even be? Heck, she could have gotten herself killed in the ten years for all she knew! Clack! Her wayward thoughts were brought to a halt when her nail tapped against the shining silver cross holding her mother's old cloak together. It was a simple piece, a broach with a cross laden with silver rose blooms. Dad had said that that was the emblem Summer had chosen to represent herself as a Huntress. All Huntsmen and Huntresses had something like that. Even Ruby had her own silver rose bloom. But something had always felt a bit different about this one. She had never been able to place why, but it felt like she had a piece of her mother with her no matter where she went. Different from what the cloak as a whole meant- the cloak reminded her of her mom, reminded her of her dream to be a hero like her. But the broach... when she held it, it felt like holding mom's hand... So when her fingers brushed the broach again in the frantic attempts to pave the awkwardness, a thought occurred to her.

Mom couldn't be dead. And mom hadn't completely forgotten about her. She was out there. If anything had happened, Ruby would know. She'd feel it. The cool dampness of tears streaming down her face was less of a surprise than it usually would've been. Something told her that emotional outbursts weren't uncommon here. "Wait for me, Mom. I'm sorry I took so long... but I'm coming to find you. I'm taking you home."

Suddenly a hand found itself on her head. Standing behind her was none other than Natsu. "And we'll help you find her." He said with a grin. "You said that cloak reminds you of your mother right? Then I think I can help you chase her down."

Makarov sighed. "Natsu, what point of 1 on 1 chats do you not understand?"

"Sorry, gramps! I couldn't help myself. Besides, I happened to overhear that she and her friends will be joining Fairy Tail. So I got a bit excited!"

"I see. Well. Take her down to see Mira and have them all get their guild marks."

"You got it!" He said as he looked down at Ruby with a smile. "Shall we go?"

"What do you-" Her surprised yet quietly delivered question was swept up in the enthusiasm of Natsu's reaction, an excitement that she could honestly get used to. It was so different from Beacon. At the school, everyone seemed to be against each other, unless you were friends already or wee part of a team or killed some massive Grimm together. Sure, some of her views may have been skewed by Cardin's actions back then, but she knew that it wasn't an uncommon setup in a school. Natsu's earlier claim that Fairy Tail was like a big family was seeming more and more accurate. Waving off his interruption and tabling her question for later, she merely nodded and looped her arm through his. She hoped he was okay with it. She felt a little... clingy... sometimes, when dealing with new people. "Let's go."

* * *

"Step on up." Mirajane said with a smile as she faced the soon to be new members. "My name is Mirajane Strauss and once you get your marks, I'll be filling you in on how things work around here. Just indicate where you want your guild mark and what color you want it it and I'll apply it with this stamp."

"Look at you. Recruiting for the guild. Trying to responsible for once, Salamander?" Gajeel asked Natsu with a grin.

"Like you're much better!"

"Gihi, how about we take this outside?"

Mirajane suddenly cleared her throat, her smile now far more threatening than any glare. "Our new members need to get their stamps and you boys are causing a ruckus. Do I need to . . . discipline you?"

Both Natsu and Gajeel immediately stopped bickering and backed away, content to let things keep moving.

Damn. This Mirajane gal had some kind of glare. One that honestly reminded her of Summer's. She had used it all the time on Dad when he'd do something stupid behind her back and try to hide it. Oh how often he was put in the dog house for it- why did they have a dog house anyway? Zwei never used it. Still, seeing her dad shoved into the small thing about once a month was funny. Honestly, Ruby's glare had started to get just as intimidating as their mom's. Something she really hadn't expected, since Rubes was always such a quiet kid. Well. When she wasn't geeking out about weapons or the abilities of certain well known Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Being the good leader that she tried to be, Ruby took her place next to Mirajane first. She had a wry smile plastered to her pale face- how could she not? The energy and enthusiasm in this place was so contagious that even the two bickering boys being subsequently cowed into submission didn't kill the mood. "Right shoulder, please. In red." It was her color, after all.

Each of the girls likewise indicated a place and a color, with Yang taking just over her left hip in yellow, Blake taking her right bicep in black, and Weiss taking the spot just to the left of her neck over her collar bone in white.

Mirajane smiled. "Now that you're officially members of Fairy Tail, I can explain to you how a guild works. We mages are sort of, warriors for hire. People post jobs to the job bulletin and we can take them on to reap the rewards. Some are as mundane as taking part in a theater act while others are as crazy as liberating an entire village from monsters. The currency here is known as Jewels and it's what us wizards work for. Sure, some of us may work pro-bono, but you'll need to pay your rent if you intend to live in your own place.

There are also ranks within the guild. Mage, S-Class Mage and Guild Master. The Guild Master naturally has the highest authority, with the S-Class mages acting as his most elite. An S-Class mage is chosen every year after undergoing an exam. The exam is different every time, so you're never sure what to expect. I myself am an S-Class mage, hehe. Though I don't really fight much anymore."

At a shared glance amongst the four world foreigners, Ruby piped up. "This system isn't entirely different from the Huntsmen and Huntresses of our world. Though I do admit that their efforts are generally devoted more towards slaying monsters, they still have to deal with bounties, occasionally doing a bunch of work for free, and paying rent. Though I gotta admit, this whole S Class exam is new and sounds like a great way to display any competitors' talents." That said, any attempt to display their own talents so far had proven difficult. Their bodies had just switched over to magic, after all, so regaining some of their old abilities would be more difficult than they expected. Ruby had already personally noticed that the lack of Aura left her significantly more open to attack and diminished her strength. She had enough reason to suggest that Yang was also struggling with getting used to the fact that she didn't have the same degree of super strength she once possessed. But given time, she had no doubt they could regain what they had and get even stronger. And once they were, they'd all go and find Summer Rose and take her home.

"Where do our ranks fall then, as newbies?" came Yang's playful tone. Maybe it wasn't the most tactful, but she was all full of nervous energy and itching to get a fight in. Hell, she'd be content with a single punching bag at this rate.

"I'm also interested in seeing how we could compare. That said, perhaps it's better waiting until we have some of our powers back..." Weiss certainly sounded a bit dejected, which made sense to Yang. Her whole fighting style relied on her Semblance- not unlike the blonde's own- and to suddenly it have access to it left her pretty damn neutered.

Ruby's lips curled into a smirk. "I was thinking about that. I've got hours of battle videos saved on my Scroll. I'm pretty sure I can still use it here. Maybe if we show the others what we were able to do back in Remnant, they could point us toward a magic that works the same way."

"That's probably a good idea." A deep male voice said suddenly. Standing behind the girls was a tall man with spiky blond hair and a scar shaped like a lightning bolt across his right eye. "We don't know what to expect from you after all."

Natsu's jaw dropped. "Laxus! How long have you been here?!"

"Since the very start. I've been observing from afar. Someone had to keep an eye on you two idiots while you were duking it out."

He turned to the girl's. "In return. We have footage we can share as well. That'll make it easier for us to work together in the future. Name's Laxus Dreyar by the way. S-Class Mage."

"Woah..." If Ruby had thought that Natsu had big muscles and Gray had nice abs, this Laxus guy was like an Adonis or whatever the heck that ancient Huntsman's name was. She had heard the term 'beefcake' thrown around in the dorms before, but hadn't exactly gotten the definition of it until now. This man looked like he could break some of the largest Grimm over his knee like a gosh darn twig. And a cursory glance to her sister proved it. Ruby knew that Yang had a type. And that type was incredibly fit people. For guys, it generally meant musclebound badasses. For girls, it generally meant the ones that were extremely toned and flexible. Like Blake, which The younger sister consistently teased the older about. Their potentially more than friends connection had been deemed the 'Bumblebee Ship' during one of Ruby's late nights hanging out with Nora and Jaune from Team JNPR. Ruby had actually lost a bet early on in the war, claiming that Yang and Blake were going to kiss after taking down a big bad together. But she'd been wrong. If the two were together, they were doing a great job of keeping it secret.

But, more importantly, Laxus had said the magic words. Footage they can share. "Ooo! Gimme gimme. I wanna see all this cool magic in action!" Onlookers might see the Ruby's silvery eyes had somehow turned into stars. It wasn't that different from the first day she arrived at Beacon and freaked out over every last weapon she could find. Heck, sometimes she knew more about a weapon than even the person who wielded it.

Laxus nodded. "Oi, Penny. Get the movie player ready."

Sitting at a nearby table was a young girl with messy orange hair, green eyes staring down at what appeared to be a mess of metal. It almost looked like she was building something. "Would it kill you to say please?" She muttered as she stood up, a green guild mark clearly visible on the back of her right hand. "But sure, sure. I'm the only one who knows how to work the thing after all."

She walked directly past the gang and rummaged in a cupboard for a few minutes before busting out a device that was compatible with lacrima film.

"Here we are. Might take me a bit to turn the thing on. It's always been fickle."

As she placed it down on a table, she could feel someone drilling a hole into the back of her head with a stare.

She whipped her head around, an eyebrow cocked as she locked her eyes with Ruby.

"Can I help ya?"


	5. Natsu vs Yang

"P...Penny?"

Ruby Rose looked like she saw a ghost. And, in a way, she had. This girl with her striking orange hair and penchant for green looked identical to the ensouled robot that had been part of Salem's first step of the war. The Fall of Beacon had been heralded by a match between Pyrrha Nikos and Penny Polindena at the Vytal Festival. A competition meant to bring the kingdoms together. But it had instead been the start of chaos. Salem's forces tricked Pyrrha into destroying Penny and incited a Grimm Invasion. The battles culminated with the release of a Grimm Dragon and a battle between Cinder and Pyrrha at the top of the tallest tower... which Ruby arrived to far too late to do anything but watch Pyrrha die. That said, the outburst of her Silver Eyes had paralyzed the dragon and critically injured Cinder, so there was at least something good that happened that night.

"Penny!" Swept up in her emotions, the only thing that stuck in her mind was being able to see one of her first true friends again, and she ran at her with such force that it looked like she actually vanished from where she stood and appeared on top of the girl, hugging her as tight as possible.

Of course, it eventually occurred to her that this couldn't be the same Penny, which led to her blushing like mad and leaping off the girl, assaulting her with a chorus of apologies.

Penny was honestly a bit frightened of the hyperactive girl who had taken it upon herself to assault her with hugs. The way she acted made it seem like the two were bestest friends forever when that couldn't be further from the truth.

"I'm sorry, Ruby was it? I'm afraid I don't know you. My name is indeed Penny, but I have no recollection of ever meeting you."

"It's like Edolas." Gray said. "You may very well be a counterpart to someone who existed in Remnant."

"If that's the case, then I'm gonna get a headache." Penny said as she decided to shake off her sour mood and at least give this energetic girl a smile. She may be grumpy, but she didn't want to entirely crush this girl's spirits. "But even though we haven't met. That doesn't mean we can't get to know eachother now. Name's Penny Solace. Mechanic Extraordinaire."

A wave of relief washed over her. Thank the gods that these people were accustomed to wacky dimensional craziness or else she'd have some serious explaining to do. "I'm sorry, I kinda lost control of myself there..." she muttered, rubbing the back of her neck anxiously. "My world's Penny was Penny Polindena. We were pretty close before she was lost... one of the first casualties in the War..." No, she had to stop dwelling on that. The past was the past. She should focus on the chance she had now. "But I'd be happy to get to know you! Penny is still Penny, no matter what dimension she's from." It was a bit ironic that this Penny was a mechanic, given that hers was a robot. "Mechanic, you say? Hmm... I might have to share with you some of my weapon designs." She already had a few drafts of updates to Harbinger. All that stopped her was the unspoken question: did she have the courage to modify her uncle's weapon, a weapon that felt so much like him? Perhaps some day... but not yet.

"That's understandable." Penny said as she placed her hands on her hips. "I don't blame you for reacting the way you did at all. And if that other me was friends with you, then I have a feeling I'll like you too. And don't you worry. She may have died but . . . that just means I'll have to do enough living for the both of us."

She then slammed a hand on the projector and a video feed of the Grand Magic Games began to play.

"Might wanna get comfortable. It's a long video."

She glanced sidelong at Ruby. "And I dunno why but." She wrapped her arm around Ruby and pulled her close. "I feel like I could get used to huggin' ya. Yer soft."

With the videos of this Grand Magic Game playing before her, Ruby wanted to focus on only one thing. But the orange haired girl at her side was making her think of another, one that made her cheeks pink with a quiet blush. She'd... never been called soft before. Nor had someone pulled her that close while watching a movie...

But this Penny was flesh. Completely organic. She didn't feel cold at all. This Penny felt so warm, she couldn't bear to not lean into her touch. If she could, she would probably spend hours just cuddling up with her. But that nagging voice in the back of her mind that told her to pay attention to lectures in the classroom told her that she had a fight to watch, and if there was anything that could wrest her attention from the cute girl at her side, it was a savage application of violence on a deserving enemy.

The video started playing, with the first fight shown being Mystogan versus Jura.

"Jura is one of the Ten Great Wizard Saints." Penny explained. "The Ten Great Wizard Saints are known as the ten strongest Wizards in all of Ishgar and Jura is ranked Number five. He's also a member of the guild Lamia Scale.

His opponent is Jellal Fernandes, currently masquerading as Mystogan, a former member of Fairy Tail. Jellal himself is a former Wizard Saint. This is a battle between two magical experts, pay close attention!"

. . .

Naturally that whole debacle with Jellal suddenly having a laughing fit and falling unconscious happened. Leading Jura to be proclaimed the victor.

"Oh yeah." Penny said as she scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Forgot that happened."

Before the admittingly a bit amusing anticlimax struck, Ruby stood in awe of the massive area of effect attacks that these Saints had managed to pull off with such ease. Spells like these looked like full powered attacks from the likes of Salem's strongest forces, heck, some even looked as damaging as she herself could be! And to think that these wizards could throw out attacks like that continuously? Then again, this power was probably why they were given such lofty titles. Ruby Rose could not help but stand there in shock, jaw dropped, watching the exchange and clash of such high powered magics.

Buuuuut she ended up sweat dropping when she saw how the battle ended. A small pout puffed up her cheeks as she muttered something about killing the excitement, the heiress hadn't caught her exact wording. Weiss, on the other hand, couldn't stop herself from facepalming. "Really? That's how it ends? Seems kinda ridiculous given how ludicrously strong they were..."

"You get used to it." Penny said with a small chuckle. "But the fights only get more wild from there. The next fight is something to behold." She said as she switched it on.

"Erza Scarlet, an S-Class Mage of Fairy Tail. Versus 100 Monsters!"

To be honest, even Penny herself was still in awe of this one. Erza was a goddamn monster among monsters. She put all of them to shame.

"Holy-" muttered Blake, yellow eyes wide with sheer shock. That woman, the one this Penny called Erza, was the same redhead that she took note of earlier in the main area, radiating confidence and power. In some ways, she reminded her of a far more put-together Pyrrha Nikos. Though she didn't interact with that girl that often- that was more of Weiss and Yang's thing- she still knew enough about the sheer levels of skill and power the redhead had. Pyrrha was, after all, chosen to be the Fall Maiden.

"-shit," finished Yang, a look of complete and utter awe plastered to her face. This Erza was an absolute fucking beast! How could anyone have this much power?! Sure, producing violent bursts of magical effects was cool and all, but this chick kept it old school, summoning weapons from out of nowhere. That was so freaking cool. Hell, the blonde had no doubt that her younger sister was freaking out just as much over all the weapons Erza used. But she couldn't dare look away to check. Hmmm... while she personally didn't have a use for that power, Yang knew Ruby would love it. Maybe she could convince Erza to teach Ruby?

Penny couldn't help but snicker. "You guys are pretty cool, y'know that? I know for a fact you'll fit right in around here. Especially you, my soft Ruby." She said as she ruffled Ruby's hair. Truth be told, she was only doing it because she found the other's flustered reactions endearing. Plus she just looked like someone starved of affection and Penny was ready to give it to her.

"Anyways. The next one is Gray Fullbuster of Fairy Tail versus Rufus Lore of Sabertooth. Check it out, yo."

The comment of course caused the girl in question to blush the same shade of red as the highlights on her dress, which incidentally led to her cuddling up against Penny more. Such a reaction sent a small pang of jealousy through Weiss' mind, drawing her out of the intense battle between an ice user and a masked man with devious control over memory. While she immediately saw some similarity between Gray's magic and the ice type arsenal of moves she favored, it was the Sabertooth guild member who fascinated her more. Being able to combine different magics that he'd seen and negating attacks from others... it was a powerful skill set.

"I'm calling hax," muttered Ruby, "how's it fair for that guy to combine everything he's seen and make people forget magic they've used in front of him? Talk about cheap tactics." Says the girl who once defeated someone by simply speed blitzing them from out of nowhere. Nope. Nothing cheap about that tactic at all.

"This is a library. After reading the books, you're supposed to put 'em back!"

And Ruby's mood turned a full 180 degrees as she burst into a heady laughter. She only wished that Gray was here, then she could tease him about pulling that dumb oneliner. "Seriously? He actually said that? That's amazing hahahahaha!" Even though his smack talk needed some work, she had to admit that Gray could take a beating. It must be a trait of Fairy Tail mages to always get back up after getting knocked down. Was that the power and determination having such a closeknit guild created? She hadn't ever felt something like this in her home dimension.

"Of course," muttered Weiss, "Memory Make can only handle so much, if his brain has no time to process the attack, it's useless! Gray sure has a lot of skill to pull off something like that..."

Penny was almost giddy with the reactions of the girls around her. Truth be told, she didn't have many guild mates around her age, especially those who were female. Sure, there were a few, but they either hung out with the men or just kept to themselves. She had always felt somewhat isolated, even if she did love the guild with all her heart.

"There's one more." She said. "Fairy Tail's Laxus Dreyar versus Sabertooth's Orga Nanagear and Lamia Scale's Jura Neekis."

This would be the first time the girl's would witness both God Slaying and Dragon Slaying. She couldn't wait to see their reactions.

It was the two daughters of Taiyang's turn to both look utterly gobsmacked. When the two lightning wielding warriors clashed, the sheer power and destruction behind each of their magics had set a fire in both of their eyes. To Ruby, the display of technique and control left her craving more. To Yang, the sheer force of their attacks had her wishing she could unleash powers like that.

In the back of her mind, Ruby realized that the mages were fighting with their fists just as often as their magic. Is hand to hand combat really that important here? It had always been one of her weaker points. She had spent so much time working with her weapon that she really hadn't considered taking time to train to fight without it. Sure, she had several plans in place that would allow her to get her weapon back if it was knocked away from her, but those all involved misdirection and speed. She barely had any means to attack without relying on Harbinger or, in the past, Crescent Rose.

And then the final clashes between Jura and Laxus, two massive powerhouses in their own right, absolutely stunned the sisters.

"Oh fuck," whispered Yang, who was immediately bopped over the head by Weiss, calling her out on her language.

"Oh flapjacks," muttered Ruby at the same time, who was not bopped on the head because she wasn't adding quarters to the swear jar every two minutes. But once the adrenaline rush from watching that fight died, she was back to looking solemn. Even Weiss and Blake possessed far better hand to hand skills than her... What use would she be in a world where a fist was as important as a blast of magic?

"Hey!" Natsu shouted from behind the group. "Why didn't you show any of my fights!"

Penny snickered at that as she turned to face him. "Because they're going to experience your power first hand, Natsu. The best way for these girls to learn is through experience. So we're all going to take turns sparring them and you're going to be the first."

Natsu's eyes lit up at that. "I'm fired up!" He said with a grin. He then pointed at them. "Which one of you wants to fight me first? I won't hold back!"

Penny glanced at the others. "It's okay to be nervous. But the best way to get used to learning magic is to have no choice but to use it. Magic comes from deep within. If you have faith in it, it will come forth."

She placed a hand over her chest.

"Unbreakable minds and unbreakable bonds. That is what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard. Natsu taught me that when we first met."

Truth be told. She idolized Natsu more than anyone else in the guild. He was, after all, the one who saved her life. But that was a story for another day.

Facing him, Natsu, in battle. Why did that set a fire in her unlike anything she'd ever seen before? It was like every single cell in her body was vibrating with a want to show him everything she could do. It was similar in part to the determination she had come to after Qrow's death, though not nearly as somber. Back then, she moved with a singleminded need. But now, she felt more... free. She was stoking this flame because she wanted to, not because she had to. "I call-"

"Dibs!" yelled Yang, cutting off her younger sister and practically leaping to her feet.

Despite the over a foot height difference, Ruby walked right up to her, poking her toned chest. "Why should you get to go first?" Her tone had a certain edge to it, one that sent the weaker minded on the battlefield running like first years. The way her eyebrows angled was eerily similar to Summer's most lethal stares.

"Beeeeeecause you'd want to analyze his fighting style before you had a chance to battle him yourself? Have I mentioned you're my favorite sister, I love you, andIhaventfoughtanythingindays?" Beads of sweat formed on the blonde's brow as she rapidly tried to save face.

"What was that last part?" Ruby cocked her eyebrow, an extra dose of venom sinking into her glare.

"I love you?"

"That's what I thought." Relaxing, she acquiesced with a nod. "Alright, take the first crack at him." She's not wrong. I could use the time to analyze his style.

Blake just shook her head with a bemuses gleam in her eyes. This happened far too often for her or Weiss to get surprised by their partners' interactions.

* * *

And so the stage was set. Natsu Dragneel versus Yang Xiao Long. The Dragon Slayer found himself staring her down from across the grassy field they had chosen to fight on, a wide grin on his face.

"Show me what you got." Natsu said while beckoning her to attack.

"Watch the fight very closely." Penny said. "Natsu may not be an S-Class Mage, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the power to be one. He's already been nominated once before to take part in the exam after all.

Notice how he has absolutely no openings despite his relaxed demeanor. Natsu is a natural born genius when it comes to fighting."

That much was true. Ruby had analyzed plenty of hand to hand styles in the past due to wanting to help her sister reach her maximum potential. While she had no practical application of them, she did know a thing or two about stances and Natsu had absolutely no openings, despite just standing there relaxed. If he wasn't grinning like a bobcat, she might have found him quite intimidating. "You can't discount my sister. She was one of Beacon's top hand to hand students and one of the physically strongest freshman ever to walk the halls." Now the number one in physical strength was actually Nora Valkyrie. They had had an arm wrestling match a few months into their first semester to prove just that. And as much as she wanted to root for her sister then, it was clearly no contest. Nora was a freaking monster. Not to say that Yang was a slouch. Ruby had complete faith in her sister's power. "She might not have her aura, but she worked out more than all of us. She still has her sick guns." Both sets, actually. Though one was worked into her robotic arm.

Show him what she got, eh? Alright. Smacking her fists together for good measure (and ignoring the momentary pain of raw flesh against metal, dear gods it was weird not having aura), she cocked the shotgun gauntlet on her wrist and fell into a boxing stance. As much as she just wanted to jump right in and get in the thick of it, she knew that would be pointless. She could get severely damaged here without her aura, especially if she couldn't properly call forth whatever magic lay inside her.

And I can't exactly take it easy. But if I use my best attack right now, he's probably going to block it. I've got to start with the basics. Footwork and balance, something her father had drilled into her. Steeling herself, she looked back at the pink haired fiendishly grinning mage and bared her own animalistic grin. "This is going to be so fun!"

With that, she shot forward, cocking back her right arm to aim a jab at his face. But, it was merely a feint to cover up her true attack, a hefty gut punch with her left. The moment she would strike true, she'd fire off a shotgun round point blank, amping up the force of her punch. Of course, she could have done something similar with her metallic right arm, but she was saving that for when she needed it.

"Heh. Too easy." He said before kicking off the ground with a burst of flames, propelling himself into the sky. "Attacking straight forward like that is no different than just screaming that you're about to do a feint!" He said as he as he hovered in mid-air for a bit before grinning like a madman.

Penny sweatdropped. "Oh no. He wasn't lying when he said he was going all out."

Natsu held his hands above his head as a gignatic sphere of flame began to form, causing the surrounding area to be illuminated in an orange glow.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" He said before tossing it . . . directly behind her and missing her?

But no, that was exactly what he was aiming for. In an instant, faster than any average human could see, he was already in front of the blast and kicked it with his right foot sending it flying directly past the blonde's face and into a nearby treeline which immediately exploded, creating a huge crater that spanned for almost fifty feet in every direction.

"Gotcha." He said with a coy grin, knowing that if he actually hit her with any of his attacks, she'd be in for a bad time.

Now Yang would have insisted on any given day that she wasn't scared shitless of the massive ball of fire headed her away, but anyone who knew her well could see the sudden panic widening her lilac eyes. Had she been at full power with all of her aura, then maybe she would have countered with her own flames, or took the damage to power up her semblance. But without either, she just stood there, frozen briefly in fear. She nearly gasped when the flames soared right past her not just once, but twice after Natsu kicked the fireball away. How the actual fuck do you do that? With his smirking grin half mocking her weakness, she tried to laugh it off, but all that came out was an awkward chortle. "Haha, I knew you were doing that..."

Mock her feint and then feint right back. What a dick. A strong dick. But still a dick. He was toying with her. And that was annoying her. "Natsu?" She started, her tone uncharacteristically soft. "Thanks for..." In that instant, she made use of their close proximity by sending a rocket powered punch from her robotic arm right at his gut, the fist spinning rapidly to add more destructive torque. "Leaving yourself open," she completed with a smirk.

"Slow." He said as the fist slammed into his open palm, his grip stopping it in its tracks. "Slow and weak."

He looked down at the arm and then looked up at her.

"You lost this fight because you're seeing this arm as merely a weapon when it's much more than that. It's a part of you."

He looked her dead in the eyes.

"You were afraid earlier. Yet you foolishly moved forward."

He jumped backward and allowed his magical energy to explode around him, magical energy so intense that the ground began to shake from its sheer force.

"You remind me of how I used to be." He said. "Always charging head first into things without regard for your own safety. But where has that gotten you? Nowhere. If you continue on such a path, you will only bring destruction to yourself and those you love. You must know when to give up and run away. Listen to me, Yang."

His magical power increased even more.

"Fear is not evil. It lets you know what your weaknesses are. And from there, you can become stronger as well as kinder."

A punch that had drilled right through the chest of dozens of her most dangerous enemies was flat out caught by a boy her kid sister's age. A single. Fucking. Boy. And he had the gall to mock her more? Just what was up with this kid? And what the fuck did he mean with the whole 'it's a part of you' crap? Of course it's a part of her, it's a goddamn arm! And how dare he call her on her fear? How would he know any different? He had power here. She had nothing. Even the weakest mage could Blast a hole through her without aura.

Any conscious thought was trapped under a wave of primal fear as his magic sent her to her knees, face heated through the sheer power of the flames blazing around him.

Ruby looked on with a somber sigh. Should she stop this? She could see the pain her sister was in, even if the blonde wasn't admitting it. She had seen it even in her first punch. Yang wasn't being herself. Could she ever be herself without the powers that defined her? Ruby knew there was a lesson to be learned here, and that was the only thing stopping her from bolting out and stopping this. They were in a different world. Different rules. And Natsu was trying to impart that. Something Ruby had already noticed in the fights she had seen in the video.

"Like you know anything about fear," Yang growled, eyes shut so tight steaming tears were forming in the corner of her eyes and evaporating mere moments after they manifested. Remnant was a world built on fear. Any moment Grimm could come and take everything you loved. And it nearly had several times over. This place was perfect and cheery in comparison. Amassing what strength she could, she managed to roll away from him and struggle to her feet. "I'm outa here." Her voice was low, almost a whisper.

"Yang," murmured the younger sister in a similar tone. She knew this had been a risk. Yang was stubborn to a fault. She'd stick to her guns and never take his clear advice if she didn't think he needed it. But she had ran off as soon as she could move properly.

Letting out a low sigh, Ruby darted her silver eyes toward Blake. They didn't need to speak for the Faunus to know that her leader wanted her to go keep an eye on their resident anger ball.

Suddenly Natsu was punched in the back of the head and sent flying into a tree.

"You could be more tactful, Natsu."

Natsu turned around. "Hey, what's the big idea-" He instantly shrunk back. "ERZA!"

He instantly bowed before her. "I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!"

Normally he'd challenge her to a fight, but the glare in her eyes told him that talking back to her would be a bad idea right now. In fact, he could feel her drilling a hole in the back of his head.

"I shall go speak with her." Erza said as she followed Blake. "And I will bring her back by force if necessary."

Natsu was sweating bullets. He had unintentionally gotten Erza invested in this and that was the last thing he wanted for Yang.

The sudden reaction of the redhead had honestly caught Ruby by surprise. She girl had moved so fast and so suddenly that even she had difficulty tracking her. While her violent means of scolding Natsu reminded her of a certain white haired former heiress, that state of hers was practically a copy of the stare Qrow had told her everyone feared from her mom. A stare that she herself had managed to live up to. And seeing as that Erza stare even made Ruby freeze up, that must be some stare. The leader didn't really have a metric to compare it to, but she'd definitely argue that Summer and Erza were equally intimidating. She still had a ways to go before she became that intimidating.

After Erza left, a silence pervaded the area. People locked in their thoughts, be they of Yang or the pink haired dragon boy that had triggered this event. Letting out an uncharacteristic grumble, one that only came out when she was frustrated with a failed experiment, Weiss broke the silence. "No point standing around here waiting for them to come back. This is Yang we're talking about. Miss Hair Trigger temper. She'll burn out her fuse eventually and come back to apologize. She always does."

Weiss wasn't wrong there. Yang always was the one who'd get the most angry over something the fastest. And she'd tend to run off, to isolate herself from the cause of that anger. Didn't always help, but at least it let her focus on something else. "Natsu," started Ruby, "still wanna fight? Sounds like Weiss is in the mood."

"It pisses me off." Natsu said suddenly, flames flickering around him. "The look in her eyes. The look in the eyes of you guys. All I can see is sadness in them. Your words contradict how you really feel inside. Was Remnant really that hard on you? Was it so bad that you couldn't even open up to someone and ask for a helping hand? Was it so lonely that even smiling makes you feel guilty?"

He stood up, white scarf billowing in the breeze as he grit his teeth in silent anger.

"I won't stand for it. That sadness of yours. I'll burn it away."

A somber smile graced Penny's lips. "And that's what I like about Natsu. No matter what, he's always facing forward. Even if you're in the depth of despair, he's ready to drag you out of it."

With his white scarf billowing and the unyieldingly optimistic attitude, Ruby found a smile crossing her lips. A genuine one, not cloaked by any sadness. "He's like Mom... a ray of sunshine in the dark..." A hesitant hand reached out to grasp at Penny's, just something to hold to remind the 'fearless' Ruby Rose that she was here. That this world so full of cheer and wonder and magic was really real. A world her mom had made her home for ten years... "I wish I could stay as optimistic as you, Mom..." She had been, in her youth. But in the last three years, ever since she stepped into Beacon at the tender age of 15, that bubbliness had been near-beaten out of her by sadness, suffering, and war. In the last few years, she had gone from Ruby Rose, Signal's Top Student, to Ruby Rose, General of Remnant's Special Forces Unit. That was a lot for a kid like her to handle, but it had to be done. It was what she could do to avenge all that death and suffering. Too many people had been lost for her to worry about optimism. Was it a bit fatalistic of her to focus so much on beating Salem, even at the cost of her own life? Perhaps. But what small peace they had obtained was worth it in the end.


	6. An Unexpected Encounter

**A/N:** Here's a special shout out to ranjira1988 for motivating me to update today with his review. You rock man and just for you, there's a little update on Summer's status right at the start of the chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

"You know, if you're going to stick with me, I could bring you back to the guild anytime you want." Gildarts said as he looked back at the woman in the tattered white cloak. "The master said you're always welcome."

The woman shook her head. "No. I have to . . . find my family. And you travel a lot. You are my best bet."

"Jeez you're stubborn. Well, at the very least, let me treat you to lunch and maybe fix up your clothes. You look like crap."

She glanced up at him, silver eyes reflecting the sunlight above. "I would like that. I haven't eaten for days."

"And stop being such a stranger. As far as I'm concerned, you're a member of the guild."

"Mhmm." She mumbled, everything still pretty much a haze to her.

"Anyways, let's get going."

* * *

"Running away from your troubles will only cause pain in the end." Erza said as she approached Yang. "And you can save any tantrums, I don't have the patience for them."

Blake and Erza had found Yang just outside the guild thumping her head rhythmically against a brick wall. The Faunus had guessed that she couldn't find anything to punch, so she went for the next best thing. While Blake's first intention had been to console the girl she was so close to, it was Erza's words that held her back. "She's right, Yang. We can't just keep running." She could sense the blonde's comeback coming before it even started, and she quickly silenced her with a glare. "Yes, I know I'm one to talk. But that just means you should listen to the advice I have to give! I've tried running. Hell, all my life I've been running. Running from the teasing words, running from pursuers. Running from Adam... running from you. But I came back. I dealt with my issues and came back. Running away seems easy, but it just makes everything worse. I may still be running, but I'm running home. I'm running home to you, Yang. You and Weiss and Ruby. You guys are my closest friends and..." With the death of Ghira Belladonna and his wife soon after, Blake had no living family. "...and the only family I have left."

Yang broke her eye contact with Blake and looked down. She... wasn't wrong. "What was I supposed to do? Everything about me... everything I thought I knew about myself... it was all tied to my powers. Without aura, what am I? Without my strength, what am I? I had no choice but to run..."

Blake slapped Yang. Hard.

Lilac eyes stared with shock at the amber eyes shimmering with the start of tears. "Shut your mouth. You always, always have a choice. It may be difficult, but there's always a choice." Yang had said something similar to her years back when they had discussed Blake's past. "Don't claim you had no choice. You just took the easy way out." Taking the blonde's left, warm hand, Blake gave it a squeeze. "You aren't your powers. You know what you are? My rock, Yang. Ever since we opened up to each other. Every time I questioned my actions. I would say, "What would Yang do?" You're so confident, so internally strong... I couldn't help but look up to you as a role model. I... I only ran after the Fall of Beacon because I thought you'd hate me for what happened... But I know better now. The Yang I know wouldn't be mad. But you're not being the Yang I know." Brushing her fingers through Yang's golden locks- Blake was one of the few allowed to- she whispered, "You know what the Yang I know would do now? She'd get back up. She'd find that Ursa. And she'd kick its ass. Yang. You're not strong because of your Semblance. Your Semblance is strong because you are strong. And you're still strong here." This new world hadn't changed who Yang was, after all.

"Your friend is correct, Yang." Erza said as she crossed her arms. "So what if you're starting at zero again? Think of it as a new beginning."

She locked eyes with the other and decided to be honest with her. If she were to be a guild mate, then she should know.

"When I was a young girl, I was kidnapped by some cultists and made a slave. For years I was worked nearly to death. I had to watch the people around me die again and again. I had to watch my closest friend become corrupted by evil. I lost my right eye. But I eventually escaped. I eventually made it to Fairy Tail."

She pointed at the other.

"But even after I made it there. I was still lost. I didn't think I deserved to live. Do you know who taught me I had purpose? Do you know who helped me move forward? Natsu did. And deep down, you know what he said to you was true.

You're a Fairy Tail Wizard, Yang. It's time to move forward."

At the mention of a friend turning evil, Yang's eyes met with Blake's for a brief moment. It was a sight they knew well. Adam had once been a young man with a bright future, a dream to live in an equal world. But he'd been slowly corrupted by the worst people in the White Fang. Yang realized that maybe this world wasn't as cheery as it seemed. People like Erza had suffered, suffered and fought to earn this happiness. How stupid of her to act like they hadn't? Did she feel entitled to just because of how much of a crapsack place Remnant was? Even with Salem gone, it was still a hellish world of monsters. But it was her world. A world she still wanted to protect. If and when she got back. Between Blake and Erza's words, she had calmed down enough to see the light. "I... think you're right. The three of you. I mean. I can't exactly let myself become a disgrace to my new guild, right?" A small chuckle and a cheeky grin brought a little bit more of the fire into her lilac eyes, only brightening when she flung her arms around Blake in a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry for doubting myself, Blakey," she whispered into her ear, using a little pet name she had given her years ago. To her credit, Blake seemed to warm up to her embrace a bit more at the mention of it. She even purred. Hell, she rarely did that. Only when she was cuddled up by the fire and why was it suddenly so much hotter than it had been?

"Mm, toasty," moaned Blake, not thinking for a second before abruptly pulling away, blushing pink. "I said that out loud, didn't- Yang you're on fire." The last bit had come out in a very matter of fact tone, almost disinterested. It was sort of funny in hindsight. But what was not funny was the shimmering orange and yellow flames bathing her partner in a golden light.

"What?" Yang couldn't help but stare at the fire traveling up and down her body. Shifting glances from one arm to the next, from leg to leg, she could see a brilliant flame that didn't feel hot at all to her. Just warm. Like Blake. Like Home.

"Seems like you've gotten in touch with your magic." Erza said with a bemused smirk. "And from the looks of it, it's a type of fire magic. Now don't go thinking that you're just like Natsu. There are many different types of Fire Mages out there. The term Fire Magic is really just an umbrella term. There's Rainbow Fire, Purple Fire, Cold Fire. We just need to figure out what yours is."

There was such a thing as Cold Fire? That seemed almost too weird. Then again, she'd just seen this very woman absolutely dominate a hundred monsters that all looked to be on par or stronger than the worst Grimm she'd ever encountered. Hell, that S Class monster might've been as strong as the Grimm Dragon. Erza was an extremely impressive fighter, one she definitely admired. Took guts to fight these creatures with armor and weapons instead of blasty magical bits from afar. Smirking, Yang spoke with a voice that almost crackled like fire. "I could get used to this. Feels even better than the flames I could make with my aura. So warm and welcoming... peaceful. Yeah. It's weird. My old powers were triggered by anger. I don't think I've ever fought totally calm... but with these flames... maybe that's the point." Calming flames... Warmth, not Fury. Just what could she do with this power?

"I'll take you on, Natsu." Penny said with a cheeky grin as she stepped forward. "I'd let one of you girls fight him right now, but he's a bit fired up. So I'll cool him off for ya."

Natsu shot a glance toward her and his frown turned into a grin. "So you're giving me permission to hold nothing back?"

Penny winked at him. "Of course. If you did, I'd kick your ass."

"We'll see about that!" Natsu said as he dashed forward and sent a flaming right kick toward her face.

"Typical Natsu." Penny said before bending backward and avoiding the attack. "I feel like showing off in front of my new friends, so don't get mad if I beat you!" She exclaimed before jumping backward and extending both hands out in front of her. "Attraction!"

Suddenly Natsu found himself being pulled toward her at high speeds. "I won't let get your way so easily!" He said as he used his own hands to create flame thrusters that slowed his momentum, allowing him to escape from her grasp.

"Repel!" She shouted before being sent rocketing into the air. "Attraction!" And with that, she went flying toward Natsu at super speeds.

Natsu couldn't help but grin. "You're using your magic on yourself? That's a new trick, Penny!"

He met her head on, fist against fist.

"I'm not naive enough to believe I can beat you in hand to hand, Natsu." She said before using his own arms as leverage to flip over him. "Requip! Six Swords!" She shouted as six floating swords appeared in the air behind her. "Attraction!"

"Whoa!" Natsu shouted in surprise as he avoided the swords that were now targeting him. "Mixing Requip with Magnet Magic huh? You really have gotten stronger!"

"I can't stay weak forever, Natsu!"

Having seen her Penny's fighting style up close and personal, Ruby looked on this fight with a mixed state of awe and nostalgia. It was a bit ironic to her that Penny seemed to have a thing for floating swords no matter the universe. But the true oddity of her use of a magic that greatly resembled Pyrrha's Polarity Semblance. It was absolutely stunning to watch the two skills work in concert to create this almost effortless fighting dance. "Kick his ass Penny!" she cheered, completely fixated on the fight. She didn't even notice Weiss slipping into a chair next to her, mumbling under her breath.

It was a habit she'd developed after a hundred or so hours in her lab. Perhaps talking to yourself could be viewed as slightly insane, but it helped her work out ideas and concepts hat just didn't quite sit so well in pure thought. "Natsu tends toward physical attacks, making him a power-based fighter. Technique-based fighters like Penny have the distinct advantage there, as long as they can upset the power fighter's balance. And the way she increases her own speed with that power is utterly fascinating." Had she her full arsenal, she might have used something like that with her glyphs. She had never considered using her gravity glyphs to propel herself at her enemy. Sure, she used some of her repelling glyphs to bounce around her enemy at high speeds, but to outright fling? No. That was certainly something to consider. There was such a variety of magics available for her to study, she had no idea which she would personally want to pursue. Each felt like it had its own benefit and niche, yet if used creatively could come up with dozens of versatile uses. "Perhaps that's the way I'll go... versatility..."

As Penny got him on the backfoot, Natsu knew he had to take it up a notch. "You'd better get ready!" He said with a grin.

Penny cocked an eyebrow only for her eyes to widen in fear as she realized what he was about to do. "Wait, Natsu! Go easy!"

"Lightning-Fire Dragon Mode!" He shouted as electricity erupted around him, fusing with his flames to create a unique aura. His magical power was even higher now and in an instant, he was gone.

"Aiee!" Penny screeched as she dove sideways, looking back as Natsu punched the spot where she was standing with flames, destroying the ground. A lightning strike soon followed, proving to her that she'd be toast if he had landed that attack on her. "I yield, I yield! I didn't know you'd pull that out!"

He began inhaling air then, electricity and flame dancing around him. "Lightning-Fire Dragon's Roar!" He shouted as he sent a massive torrent of flame and electricity toward her, the blast sailing right over her head and carving a huge path of destruction through the forest behind her.

Penny fell to her knees, shaking slightly. "If that hit me, I'd be done for." She then scowled at Natsu. "I told you to fight me seriously, not bully me!"

Natsu laughed. "Well you did say full power."

"Not the kind of full power I had in mind."

The electricity around faded away as he extended a hand to her. "Still. I was impressed. You really have gotten stronger."

"True. But I have a long way to go before I become a monster like you." She said as she took his hand.

* * *

Erza, meanwhile, had witnessed the torrent of energy tear through the forest to her right and sighed. "Natsu's getting carried away again."

* * *

"Elemental Fusion?" muttered Weiss. Why hadn't she thought of that? She continued to mumble on and on about the idiosyncrasies of such a skill, how possible it might be, and just how powerful the results could be. She had certainly made us of dust combinations in her inventions and studies, but she hadn't exactly worked out a way to perfectly merge elements. Sure, she could fight well while using multiple kinds of Dust, but activating two or more at once without careful mixture could lead to chaos. She had had Ruby redesign Myrtenaster for just that reason. To combine trace amounts of different dust to create merged effects. But that would merely create electrically charged Ice or fireballs were attracted to high masses. But to use the full power of two elements at once without a negative reaction? This magic was incredible.

"Bully," poured Ruby, fully agreeing with Penny's assessment that the pink haired firemonger was going a little too hard. But she did have to give this Penny credit. She did well under such pressure and her fighting style was amazing. "Ooo, Penny, can I look at your swords later? They look so cool!" And now she's back to being a weapon nut.

The two foreigners were too wrapped up in their business hear the trio coming in.

"Natsu. Would it kill you not to make such a racket?" Erza said as she approached the battlefield.

"Ah. Sorry." He said, having cooled down from before. "I got a little too into it."

"A little." Penny said mockingly. "And sure thing Rubes. You can take a look at my swords anytime." She said with a flirty wink. "Just make sure to treat them gently, like you would a lover~."

Erza looked from Penny to Ruby, an eyebrow raised. She noticed how attracted Penny was to Ruby, but didn't comment on it.

"Anyways. I brought back the one who ran off. She also managed to unlock her magic."

Cue the blushing from the resident weapon nerd. But! She had a counter this time! "I'll have you know I consider my weapon my lover!" A pause. Another pause. And now she's even redder. "That sounded so much better in my head," she grumbled in a very Weissy fashion before folding in on herself inside her cloak.

For about five seconds before she processed Erza's news. Moving so fast it was like she teleported, she was right in front of the redhead in a blink. "You mean she did it?" She looked back and forth, looking for her dear sister, and the moment she found her she tackled her at high speeds for a tight hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Ruby... stop... you're choking me-" was all the blonde could muster. Even with her new magic, she still hadn't regained the super strength and durability she had before. Once the goofball loosened her grip, she smirked, "Wanna see it?"

Ruby grinned and nodded, had she a tail it would be wagging right now. Wait a sec. It was. But... she didn't have a tail. Ruby bent down, pulling out a corgi from behind her cloak. "Zwei? How did you get here?"

The dog merely borked and happily licked both girls before trotting over to Blake and cuddling into her arms. Funny enough, the two had become quite close. Zwei loved Blake almost as much as he loved Ruby.

"Well... now that the whole family's here, I'll show you something awesome." Closing her eyes, she collected all those warm and fuzzy feelings she had before and focused on them, and soon enough a blaze of yellow orange coated her body. The warm flames granted her a sense of inner peace, which made her realize that it was absolutely impossible for Zwei to appear here. Unless his Semblance, Pocket Pooch, somehow let him stick with Ruby in a stray pocket or something.

Zwei was strange in that he was a dog with an insanely powerful aura and a Semblance that allowed him to fit in any container. Their father even managed to email him to them once.

"Impressive, isn't it?" mused Blake, leaning on the blonde's warm shoulder.

"Is she really that warm?" asked Weiss, leaning into her other shoulder.

"Guys," blushed Yang, "we're not alone here..."

"Well, well, well. Looks like Fairy Tail has some fresh faces." A voice said suddenly. Standing at the edge of the clearing was a young woman with short messy hair that was a mixture of pink, white and brown. Pink eyes stared at them as she held her arms behind her back, her outfit consisting of a black t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans and some black boots.

"But that just makes things more exciting, doesn't it?"

Penny's eyes drifted over to the newcomer and she grimaced. "You . . . "

Clear as day on the girl's right shoulder was a guild mark that belonged to none other than Sabertooth.

"Nice to see ya again, Penny. How's the bruised ego? I hope you don't hold any hard feelings toward me since I beat ya in the Grand Magic Games."

"Neo." Penny said with a scowl. "You're the last person I want to see right now."

* * *

**A/N:** So. I'd like to hear your theories. Who else do you think will have Earthland verisons of them showing up?


	7. A Bad Omen

**A/N: **Kept you waiting, huh?

* * *

When a certain blonde laid eyes on the ice cream colored hair, her traditionally characteristic anger flared up. "What are you doing here, Neo? How dare you show your face after what you did to my friends!" Neo had been a dangerous enemy in the War, and had personally killed several allies of RWBY and several enemies. Probably the most brutal of those was when she went toe to toe with Mercury and pierced his heart with her umbrella's pointy bit. She was a wild card, fighting for neither side and attacking anyone that got in her way. She even gave Yang a run for her money a second time.

Of course, this wasn't the same Neo. Ruby had to quickly silence her sister by clamping a hand over her mouth. "Sorry about my sister," she sighed, "you just... look like someone she knew." If this girl was truly bad, they probably wouldn't have let her in. And since Penny was bantering, it was probably just a personal rival of hers, not a true enemy.

"Apologies, blondie. Not exactly sure for what. But I'd rather not walk around knowing there's someone with a nasty temper chasing after me. Penny here is enough."

Penny sighed. "I'll beat you next time." She said as she made a fist and extended it outward. "And I'll bring honor to Fairy Tail."

"I have no doubt that you will. Besides. I have a score to settle myself. Gray Fullbuster is the one who took me down after all."

She glanced at the other people present.

"I feel like you all have a personal grudge against me. I didn't sleep walk and ruin a party of yours, did? If so, I offer my deepest condolences."

Blake was the one to answer, albeit cryptically. "Where we come from, there was someone with hair like yours that hurt a lot of people we care about. And a few we didn't. Let's just say that girl was a wild card in our battles that we weren't exactly happy about..."

The others nodded, though Yang still looked like she wanted to punch Neo. At least she didn't start the altercation. Doubtful it would be perceived as well as Penny's little Ruby Bullet was. Thinkin on that, Yang thought it was adorable how flirty Penny was being with her. It would be really nice for Ruby if she could open up to someone new, maybe even make with the smoochies. What? Yang liked to see her sister happy and knew that she had been interested in both boys and girls since Signal. Though no one could ever really handle her brand of crazy...

"Look, we just thought you were someone we knew. No need to be sarcastic about it," grumbled Ruby, taking the lead again. This Neo was starting to sound like Cardin.

"No need to be sarcastic indeed." Erza said as she stepped in front of the others. "I thought I told you stop this bad habit of yours, Neo."

Neo laughed lightly. "What if I don't wanna?"

Erza summoned a sword to her hand. "Then I'll have to discipline you. As a childhood friend of yours, the responsibility falls on me to make sure you stay on the right path."

Only Yang, Blake, and Natsu would know that she was basically eluding to the fact that Neo was also a slave at one point.

"No matter how much you try to hide it." She said. "Your sadness is visible to me. You can't run from it forever, Neo. You can't ignore the fact that he's not coming back."

For a minute, Neo's smug facade faltered and it looked like she was about to break down. She thankfully caught herself though.

"I don't need you to tell me that." She said through grit teeth. "I know that better than anyone."

Neo hissed at the other. "You have no right to lecture me. I didn't join your stupid guild for a reason!"

Blake and Yang traded a quick glance, wordlessly wondering if by 'childhood friend' she meant 'was a fellow slave'. They chose to keep quite, but a small amount of sympathy opened their hearts a bit to this new Neo. Perhaps she wasn't as bad as her Remnant counterpart.

A small frown found its way onto Ruby's lips. Their Neo had also grieved over Roman's death, and after going through what she did with Qrow... things started to make a bit more sense to her. All of a sudden, she appeared at Neo's side, hesitantly reaching out to her. Just to shake her hand. "I've... lost someone important to me too. Recently. Very recently. Just... I want you to know... if you wanna talk about it... I'm available." Her last words were a whisper, "I'm sure Roman's proud of who you've become."

Neo locked eyes with this new girl. And while at first she was about to take her hand, something about the girl made her flinch. That rose pendant hanging around her neck.

Roses.

She instantly stepped back, growing fear in her eyes. For a moment, she could see _him._

"G-Get away!" She shouted, raising her arms in an attempt to defend herself.

It all came rushing back to her. The roses. The thorns. His smirk. Roman's sacrifice.

She added up with her back against a tree, her entire body shaking. "Stay away." She mumbled, tears falling from her eyes. "D-Don't hurt me."

Erza's eyes widened. "Did that mission really traumatize her that much? . . . I was untactful. I didn't realize . . . "

"N-Neo?" Was or something she said? No... wait... something about a mission. If she was right and Roman was killed at some point, if the person that killed him looked like her or something, that could trigger her. But she didn't react like that until she got... up close... "Neo? Is it.. is it my emblem?" She pulled the chain on her rose pendant and slid it into a pocket. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize... I wouldn't hurt you. I don't even really know you. I'd like to though!" Fumbling over her words, she slowly approached the other girl, crouching to her level and tugging back her hood. "It's okay... I'm not here to hurt you... I come from another world. A world that had a you and a Roman and a Penny. Different yous. Different thems. But still you and them."

Well. So much for any secrecy.

Neo wasn't able to process anything Ruby said. All she could spit out were broken sentences. "Underworld King. Tartaros. Monsters. Roses . . . thorns."

She was slumped against the tree now, completely out of it.

"Did you say Tataros?!" Erza exclaimed before realizing she had to elaborate on something.

"There are two different types of guilds in Earthland. Legal Guilds that follow the Kingdom's laws like Fairy Tail and Dark Guilds which operate only by their own rules and relish in causing chaos. Tartaros is one of the strongest Dark Guilds. They're mostly shrouded in mystery, but they're not to be messed with. We fought against two Dark Guilds who claimed to be its equal and both times we nearly all died.

If Neo came face to face with Tartaros . . . then that means they're on the move."

Tartaros... a Dark Guild that was hurting people. It didn't matter that she didn't know this Neo. Or this Roman. Both had been hurt by this evil group of... dare she think it- bastards! Ruby could count on one hand the people she dared call such a bad word, and even then she never said it out loud. Well. There was that one time when she fought- no, slaughtered- the man who killed Uncle Qrow. She had sworn like a sailor then.

"So they're on the move..." Ruby muttered, rising to her full height. Which was arguably not much, but she still had an intimidating presence when she wanted. "Natsu!" she called, turning so abruptly the edges of her cloak opened, revealing the tight fitting corset and combat skirt she wore beneath it. "Fight me." There was a certain fire burning in those silver eyes. "We're going to stop Tartaros from hurting anyone else!"

"It isn't that simple, Ruby." Erza said, cutting her off. "Legal Guilds aren't allowed to start a war with a dark guild unless it's via counterattack. Not only that, but we need permission from the Magic Council. They're the people who regulate Wizard Guilds."

"It' doesn't matter." Neo suddenly said. "Even if you were to fight them, you wouldn't stand a chance. That man. He wasn't human. He was like a monster. The power that radiated off of him. It felt like something and nothing at the same time. And he felt ancient . . . very ancient. As if he had lived for eons."

"Could he perhaps be related to Zeref?" Penny chimed in. "Zeref is immortal right? Maybe he has something to do with this."

"It's possible." Erza said. "But no one knows where Zeref currently is, nor what his goals are."

They had completely forgotten that their new friends likely had no idea who Zeref even was.

"Zeref?" muttered Ruby. The other new members of the guild looked just as confused as she did, but the four also held a certain sense of trepidation. The name had this... haunting edge to it. Something about the name sent a shiver rolling down her spine, and casual glance to the others confirmed that they were experiencing the same effect. "We don't know him, but he sounds as bad as our Salem..."

"As for the Dark Guild... I get that we can't exactly go knocking on their door. I just... we've seen enough people get hurt. As long as Team RWBY is here in Fairy Tail, we will not stand for anything like that, regardless of any uppity council's rules." Clenching her fist, Ruby grimaced. "If these Tartaros guys are as bad as you say, we're going to need everything and everyone we can to beat them. And if we can't act without them attacking first, so be it. We should find out if there's any pattern to their attacks and try to stop them before anyone else dies..."

"Zeref is known as The Dark Wizard. He's said to be over 400 years old and the strongest wizard to ever walk the earth. There isn't a single type of magic he doesn't know. He also created Demons who have terrorized Earthland since their creation."

She sighed.

"The cult that enslaved me as a kid was a cult dedicated to worshiping Zeref. He is revered as a god by some and feared as a devil by others. There is not one corner of this world that his influence hasn't reached."

"And that is precisely why this new girl has the right idea, correct Erza?" A man's voice said out of the blue. "You say you want to stick to the rules, but you know we Fairy Tail wizards are notoriously bad at that."

Erza's eyes widened at the voice before turning around and noticing exactly who was standing there.

A man about six feet tall with slicked back auburn hair, pale white skin and piercing yellow eyes. He wore a red tunic and white pants with black boots. A confident smirk played upon his lips.

"You. You're back from your mission?"

"Just in time too, it seems."

Erza turned to Ruby and others.

"Ah, this is-"

The man held up a hand. "No need. It wouldn't be polite if I didn't introduce myself personally. Greetings. I am one of Fairy Tail's S-Class Mages. My name is Cinder Sleigh, but most just call me Cinder."

His smirk transitioned into a smile.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance."


	8. Moving Forward

The four foreigners shared a look a mutual disgust when Erza went on to explain what evils Zeref had wrought. Truth be told, his feats were almost on par with the likes of Salem. Though, at least some members of the quartet were fairly convinced that the Demons of this world were far stronger than the Grimm that they fought day to day. For the ones in the group that didn't know about Erza's childhood, a pang of sorrow struck their heartstrings. The Schnee knew all too well the suffering people like her family had wrought on Faunuskind, including slavery. The Rose was reminded of a village enslaved by bandits she had encountered in her six month exile. When she couldn't find the heart to continue to let them suffer, she had acted as best she could given her circumstances, but ultimately prevailed over the scum and saved them. It didn't sound like Erza was as lucky.

A new figure appeared to them, and with all the constant new people appearing, Ruby had gotten pretty used to these interactions. What she was not used to was the sheer panic that instilled within her when the man uttered his name.

"Cinder..." A whisper shared by the four girls, though the ones that held the most venom were certainly Ruby's and Weiss'. Ruby had of course seen Cinder kill Pyrrha and threaten many others while Weiss had nearly been gutted by her flaming spear.

When Ruby Rose broke into a fit of chuckles, any tension in the room shattered. "Hahaha, I don't believe it, this Cinder's a boy and a good guy, she'd be soooo pissed if she knew about it-" Of course their Cinder had been killed in a long and grueling battle between her and Jaune. Probably his finest moment, even if neither he nor Ruby were all that fond of killing. Well. Unless it was Grimm they were killing. Killing humans was those b-word's job.

"I take it you've traveled from another world then." Cinder said, having been familiar with the practice due to the whole Edolas debacle. "How very interesting." He said as he produced a book out of mid air and opened it. "I'll have to archive your stories sometime. The world could always use more books. Just like the one I'm currently reading."

He glanced upward at them.

"But I can assure you here and now. I am not pleased at all either. To know that another me existed and that they caused pain and suffering. I'd have killed her myself if given the chance."

He shut the book and caused it to vanish.

"I will not stand by such unjust acts and that's exactly why I shall aid you in preparing to face Tartaros. We may have been enemies in another realm. But that will not be the case here. If there I was a fearsome enemy of yours. Then here I am a fearsome ally."

He spoke with eloquence and grace. A clearly refined and educated gentleman. There wasn't a trace of feral fury in him.

Ruby immediately decided she liked this Cinder so much better. While the other Cinder had her intimidating moments, she also made some... really strange choices in the war. Like beating Ruby until she couldn't move, but then using her finishing move on Weiss. At the time, Ruby had just been happy to not be the crazy woman's target, since Jaune had been able to patch her up easily enough. But throughout the War she made some other weird choices. Like estranging Emerald from her, leading to the dark skinned woman joining Ruby's side in the conflict. Em had been a staunch ally of theirs ever since and had proven to take a liking to Ruby due to their similar tastes in weapons and surprisingly literature. Yeah, who knew that the thief was actually quite in to books. Their Cinder had also whined a bunch suffered at least five villainous breakdowns. Kinda felt like a Saturday morning cartoon. Well. Only when she was talking. She was still an insanely competent fighter.

This Cinder seemed much more stable. He honestly reminded her of Oobleck, a bit. A sort of no-nonsense type that was serious all the time, but caring in his own way. He had been loyal, too, until a battle had taken out his legs. Thankfully he survived, but Ruby personally asked him to stay back. Even if he had robotic legs now, she didn't want him to get any more hurt than he already was. Besides, he served them so much better as a strategist in their headquarters than as a soldier on the battlefield. Leave the field strats to her, she had said.

Ruby smiled brightly. "I'd be happy to share our stories with you, Cinder. And... thanks for backing me up here. It's good to know that there's a dimension where Cinder didn't end up as... sad as she was in our world..." Because that's what it came down to in the end. Cinder was just... sad. Circumstance brought her to evil, but she wasn't willing to change. Em had managed to recover and now she was teaching at the newly rebuilt Beacon Academy. She was giving back. Something Cinder never seemed to want to do, even when they had given her multiple second chances. She remembered her last words all too well.

* * *

_"You were nothing without her. Just a pathetic man who had no clue who he was," Cinder growled, pinned against the wall by a blade sunk into her left shoulder. _

_Jaune Arc approached, hatred in his eyes as he unsheathed another sword. Milo, or at least what had survived of the weapon reforged personally by Jaune with the express purpose of using it to slay the bitch who killed his Pyrrha. He didn't speak. He just walked slowly. Confidently. He had bested this woman for the first time, completely on his own. His revenge was right on the tip of his tongue._

_"Please! Let me go," Cinder panicked, trying to yank out the sword. "You need me. Only I know what Salem's really planning. I can help you, I can give you exactly what you want and more! Just give me another chance." So many fools had fallen for it. Her false tears, her promises she would never keep. Anything in order to live. _

_"I want you dead." The only four words he needed to say before he lopped off Cinder's head. "No second chances from me. That's the kind of man I am."_

* * *

The memory of that fight still brought a chill to her bones. A double edged chill. Ruby had never seen Jaune fight so desperately or so skillfully, nor had she seen him wreathed in so much anger. He was simultaneously frightening and awe-inspiring... Fitting, as he was currently the Headmaster of Beacon.

"Cinder!" Natsu exclaimed suddenly, shredding through the silence. "Fight me!" He said as he dashed forward. Natsu was always one to take on a challenge and nothing excited him more than fighting the S-Class mages of his guild.

Cinder merely laughed. "Another time, Natsu." He said as he casually raised his hand in a chop position and slammed it down on top of Natsu's head, creating a crater and knocking the mage out instantly.

"As expected." Erza said with a huff. "He always gets excited when someone strong comes around. Especially if it's Cinder or Gildarts."

And now she realized she had to elaborate on that.

"Gildarts is the strongest S-Class mage in our guild." She said. "And Cinder is a top contender for second strongest. Natsu is always trying to challenge them to test himself, but ah, this is always the result."

While Ruby Rose was certainly impressed with how easily Cinder took him out- and if the groan she had thought she heard meant anything, then Yang was certainly annoyed that the guy who trounced her had been knocked out so quickly- she was a bit more annoyed with the outcome. "Dangit! He can't fight me if he's unconscious."

"There's no need to worry." Cinder said with a smile. "Training can be done in more ways than straight up combat. Training the mind and soul, for instance, are just as important."

"If one is too focused on training the body, then they are blinded to the things that are most obvious." He said from behind Ruby, having somehow moved at speeds so quickly that not even an experienced huntress would be able to detect him.

"I know your names, of course. I did my research. And I can tell you from a glance." He turned around and pointed a quarterstaff at Ruby. "That what you lack most is maturity. Having combat experience is good, but when you're forced too grow up too quickly, you end up missing important fundamentals."

He then shifted the staff toward Weiss.

"You're a quick learner, but you hesitate too much in your thoughts. You should learn from your blonde compatriot. Speaking of."

He turned to face Yang. "You need to learn to harness the other side of anger. The answer you seek is within you."

And finally he faced Blake.

"Your foundation is solid, but you lack the proper teaching needed to build upon it."

Ruby was generally the one with the fastest reaction times, though Blake was a close second, given to how used to moving at fast speeds she was. But when she suddenly heard Cinder's voice move in the simple pause between words, she just blinked. Several times, actually. She couldn't process just how he'd managed to get that much distance covered without her at least sensing some part of his movement. By the looks of it, Blake hadn't faired better either. His movement must've tricked her superior sense of hearing and smell, since Ruby saw the same confusion in her wide amber eyes.

That confusion shifted to a pink flush of embarrassment, for all four of them, though they were not flustered. It was more like they had realized the truth behind his words.

Given Ruby's less than friend-filled life, she really hadn't had the chance to be a normal kid. Even when she did manage to make friends at Beacon, most of the time she was focused on talking with these older students about ways to more efficiently kill Grimm or maintain their weapons. She had had to grow up quickly to survive in this world of monsters that would try to do a murder on her. A life she had chosen, no doubt, but she had still lost out on several things.

To Weiss' credit, she flushed the least. She had known that her overthinking was one of her greater weaknesses, and at times had wished she had just a hint of the blonde's recklessness. While it wasn't always smart, Yang acted quickly. Weiss' reactions were stalled by her having to think everything out. Even if she had grown in grace and skill since her prissy heiress days, hesitation still befuddled her. As it had quite recently with her being unsure of which magic to pursue.

What did he mean by the other side of anger? Yang found herself silently asking that question. Something just didn't add up in her head. Anger and frustration had been the source of her power for so long, and here she had learned her true power came from calm. Was there a way to be both angry and calm? It wasn't something she normally asked. It wasn't in her nature to, well, ever be calm. She was always angry or boisterous or ecstatic or all those other fun adjectives.

Logically speaking, Blake's problem made the most sense. She had gotten into Beacon by way of passing the practical, not due to going to a given training school. She had learned to fight on her own, facing Adam and a few other members of the White Fang in direct combat every day. While it had honed and enhanced her skills across the board, she had definitely lost out on the technical side of things. The measure of unpredictability in her makeshift fighting style was nice, but she knew she was by no means a master, either of the sword or her inner energy. Be it aura or magic. She broke the silence. "Sounds like we have a lot of work to do... and from your tone, I can guess you've already determined just how we'll improve upon these faults?"

"Indeed I have. Now let us be off." Cinder said, turning on his heel and walking back toward the guild hall.


	9. Ghosts of the Past

**A/N:** Kept you waiting, huh?

* * *

Back at the guild hall, Cinder stood atop a stage, prepared to address everyone in the guild.

"Recently it has come to my attention that our newest members are in need of guidance." He said. "And so, I have decided to pair them up with some of you, in a bid to help them become stronger and learn the ways of Earthland."

"Ruby Rose!" He exclaimed. "From studying the videos you shared and merely observing you in general, I have decided that the best person to partner you up with is . . . Natsu Dragneel!"

Natsu grinned. "I'm all fired up!"

"Weiss Schnee! With your analytical way of thinking and general way of conducting yourself, you shall be partnered with Gray Fullbuster!"

"I won't go easy on you." Gray said with a smirk.

"Yang Xiao Long. With your ferocious temper yet righteous will to do good, you shall be partnered with Erza Scarlet!"

"As expected." Erza said with a hand on her hip. "I'll make a fantastic wizard out of her."

"Blake Belladonna! With your solid foundation, what you lack most is versatility and the ability to shift with the tides. Your partner shall Lisanna Strauss!"

Lisanna looked shocked. "Eh, me? _But I haven't even shown up yet._" She muttered under her breath. "I'll do my best though!"

"You will each do your best to learn from eachother and become stronger for the sake of the future!"

The four filed into the guild hall with a look of excited anticipation gracing their pale faces. It almost felt like they were back in the main hall of Beacon Academy, waiting to receive their team assignments. At least, that's how it felt to Ruby. She wasn't sure what the others were thinking, but did note their determined looks. Ruby had immense measures of faith and trust in her team- now that they knew some of their greater flaws, they would all work to improve themselves. Which meant their dear leader would have to work twice as hard to be a good example for them! Hopefully she'd get a good partner. Who would Cinder assign to her? She was almost giddy with the wonder and curiosity of exploring this world of magic.

After that rude pause for dramatic effect, Ruby pumped her fists and let out a triumphant, "Yes!" Which she was sure could be heard by others around her, but she didn't care. She got Natsu as a partner! Heck yeah! She had to find him asap and ask him more about that dragony magic of his. And maybe talk about a few other things. And maybe hug him more. She found her cheeks flushing a little pink when she thought back to the hug and how warm he was. Would Yang be that warm, too? Even when not using her flames? Once unlocked, magic seemed to have this effect on the body without it even being active. Maybe it just depended on the type. Weiss would probably look into it sometime. She'd ask her later.

So, Gray would be her mentor? A small wry grin curved one side of Weiss' lip. "I expect nothing less, Fullbuster," she shot back at him, inwardly glad that the one who's magic interested her the most had become her mentor. She could already see similarities in her old powers. Not just the icy nature of her 'ice queen' attitude a few years ago, but in the way it worked a little like her summons. Wonder if she could find a way to replicate that power here... Summoning an ally in battle could prove quite useful. Regardless, she was determined to find the magic that worked for her and, ironically, hopefully find a way to chill out and stop overthinking things.

Erza Scarlet would be her partner. One of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail and a veritable one woman army. A wide grin was the blonde's immediate response. They had already bonded and shared a bit, so she had no doubt that she'd be able to work well with her. She also admired the redhead's tenacity and attitude, but did notice that she seemed a bit lacking when it came to social skills. Maybe that's where she could help her? Yeah, if Yang spent enough time with Erza just hanging out and having fun- without running into their training time, that is- she had no doubt that Erza would become even more well rounded. And hopefully some of that stoic calm would rub off on her. She could really use that. It might also prove nice to have another brain to pick. Yang didn't always understand the more advanced aspects of Aura, she'd rather focus on how to use it, not why she can use it, but Erza looked like someone who would have a better idea of the nature and origin of magic than, say, Natsu.

As for Blake, she merely scanned the area to find this Lisanna. As the shocked girl claimed, the two hadn't met yet. Oh, though the girl had whispered that quite quietly. It would be impolite to bring that up in conversation. That said, it did prove to her that her enhanced senses remained. As a Cat Faunus, she had a fair number of feline traits, including enhanced smell, sight in the dark, hearing, a penchant for fish, and a fascination with yarn. Which the last one she would never dare tell anyone. Yang had gotten it out of her on a bet and never let it down. "A pleasure to meet and work with you, Lisanna," she said when she reached the girl's side.

"So your name is Blake, huh?" Lisanna asked the other as she sat down at one of the tables located outside of the guild. Truth be told, she wasn't sure what to make of the other. But in a way, she sympathized with her.

"You know. I myself was sent to another world once." She said with a somber smile. "So I can relate to your plight. I spent three years in a place called Edolas while everyone here thought I was dead. And then one day, my friends showed up and one thing led to another and I ended up home."

She laughed softly. "Sorry if that was sudden. I just wanted to create a starting point for our conversation. Truth is, I don't think I'm fit to be your teacher. All I've ever done is be a burden. But if Cinder thinks I have what it takes, then I'll do my best."

Blake merely nodded in reply as she joined white haired girl at the table, taking in the warmth of spring. Remnant was never all that warm, whether it was some unnatural chill due to Grimm or some form of geography, she wasn't sure. As far as she remembered, the only warm areas she had found in her travels were in Menagerie, which had a fairly low natural Grimm count. She wasn't sure that meant anything, as correlation is not causation, but it might be worth looking into later.

"So you're the reason Natsu ended up in- what was it called- Edolas?" She had thought she heard someone say the name of that other world at some point. A small smile turned the corner of her lip. It was... pleasantly surprising to see someone who knew what it felt like to be displaced. "It's okay, it's not that sudden at all," she added. "Truth be told... I'm not really the best at starting conversations myself." Well. She did have a bit of a temper at times- blame Yang for that- and she could fire off some brutal attacks first then, but in normal conversation she rarely felt a need to talk first. Unless she was trying to instigate the conversation. She had tried to get better at that, but old habits die hard, she supposed.

"I trust Cinder," Blake continued, "I'm not entirely sure why he paired us up, but he did say that we could learn from each other. My guess is he thought that we would grow better together than apart." Her black cat ears twitched a bit as she spoke, some part of her mind still on high alert in case anything went wrong. She had long since given up on hiding her ears with her bow. And while she still liked to wear bows, she generally kept them towards the side of her head, as she did with the one she wore bow. A fashion statement, not a coverup. "Truthfully... I'm a little.. surprised at how cheerful this world is. Where my friends and I come from... every day is a matter of life or death. People like us train to fight these shadowy monsters, the Grimm, so that those who cannot fight are slaughtered. But sometimes the strongest enemies are the ones next to us, not the ones we banded together to fight." Letting out a long sigh, she figured she might as well explain it all.

"Do you see these ears? Yes, they're natural. I'm what they call a Faunus. And for decades, my people were treated as lessers and slaves, just because we were different. Just because we had these animalistic features. Since as far as I can remember, I couldn't go anywhere without getting some degree of contempt. I ended up joining a group that protested this unfair treatment, but it steadily grew darker and darker. I almost fell into that darkness myself, but there was... something my former partner did that I couldn't agree with." A shiver passed down her spine. "All of those innocent people..." she whispered under her breath.

"So I left. I left everything I had known and ended up at Beacon Academy, the training school- much like your guild- where I met Ruby, Weiss, and Yang. The four of us became Team RWBY. We were just school children back then... back before the war broke out..."

She shook her head. She didn't want to dive into those memories anymore. "The point I'm trying to make is I had already felt that trapped feeling without ever leaving my world. I should be the one sympathizing with you. This place is heaven compared to my old world..."

Lisanna tapped her chin thoughtfully. She wasn't exactly sure how to respond to everything Blake had said, especially because of how tragic and dark it was. But . . . a certain part did strike a chord with her.

"That part about being looked down upon and hated by others for being different. I can relate to that." She said softly. "When I was much younger, my older sister and brother were the only family I had. And . . . because of a type of magic my sister had, we were seen as monsters. We were hated, bullied and one time we even almost died. Despite my sister helping people she across with a magic she did not understand, they never said thank you. They merely looked upon us with contempt. My brother and I were seen as guilty by association and my sister . . . she went through so much pain. She even came to see herself as a monster. But-"

Her body suddenly began to glow, signifying a change in her as she grew cat ears, fur and a tail.

"-I chose to become different as well. So that my sister wouldn't feel alone. Maybe that's why Cinder paired us together."

Being seen as a monster. Yes, that was something Blake knew well. Many had called her one while she was young. More had called her such when she took up the mask of the Grimm as a member of the White Fang. She had even called Adam one when she met him again after leaving him. But what struck the strongest chord with her was what Lisanna said of her sister. That she eventually began to see herself as a monster...

Blake had never dared tell the others, but she suffered from nightmares. They had grown more infrequent after all this time, but throughout her time at Beacon and until she defeated Adam... it was terrifying. She would wake in a cold sweat far more often than she wished. Not even a quick session with her favorite erotic novel helped.

These dreams ranged from reliving the few terrors she had committed on purpose or without her full knowledge while she was in the White Fang, all the way to horrifying visions of what could have happened if she stuck with Adam.

Becoming like him... it was her greatest fear. The image of a version of herself, skin pale as the moon and an aura as black as the night sky... a panther-esque Grimm mask with a Cheshire grin... That face haunted the worst of her nightmares.

Even now she could see it staring at her in the back of her mind. Silently mocking her. Reminding her of the world she left, the people she'd lost. All of her mistakes slipped from this darker self's lips like water streaming from a brook. She had grown resistant to this creature over time, but it was still unnerving.

Lisanna's feline form managed to catch her attention long enough to shake away the heavy feeling of her darker thoughts. "Yes... perhaps that's why," she answered quietly and calmly, not daring to betray the thoughts she had been thinking.

All of a sudden, Lisanna flicked the other on the forehead. "It's okay you know." She said to Blake. "It's okay to be sad. You don't have to hide it. You're a member of Fairy Tail now. The pain of one family member is a pain shared by the entire family."

She smiled at the other, wanting to make sure she felt welcome, even if it was a completely new world.

It's okay to be sad.

The sentiment echoed through her mind, taking her back to a moment where Ruby had said just the same words. Even flicked her forehead just like that. It was early in the War, some time before she clashed blades with Adam for the last time. Regrets had begun to affect Blake's skill in battle, and of all people to notice and come talk to her about it, it had been Ruby.

_We're family, you know. The pain of one of us is the pain of all of us._

Those words Ruby had said had brought tears to her eyes, and the two shared a hug for the first time. A rarity for them both.

Hearing similar words from Lisanna elicited the same tears. Suddenly realizing she was crying, she dabbed at her eyes with the back of her hand and sighed, "Sorry, sorry. You just... reminded me of something my leader said..." Forcing herself to smile, she reached out and grasped Lisanna's hand. "I'm glad that you people are so welcoming. I think... I think I can feel like I belong here, just like I do with Yang, Ruby, and Weiss..." Clearing off the last of her tears with her other hand, she smiled more genuinely. "I did a lot of things in the past that I truly regret... there were times where I didn't think I deserved the love my friends gave me. I, too... thought I was a monster. And... well at times... I still do..."

Saying it out loud actually felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

Lisanna gave the other a smile before laughing lightly. "Well even if you are a monster, you'll fit right in here. Between Natsu and Erza, this guild isn't exactly a stranger to monsters in human form. Especially in Natsu's case. Come to think of it though, you haven't learned what his magic is yet, have you? Care to take a gander?" Lisanna said as she shifted the topic to something lighter in tone.

"Bet you'll get it wrong~."

She supposed Lisanna had a point. Both Natsu and Erza were quite skilled and powerful mages worthy of the attention they no doubt garnered. But the white haired girl did bring up a topic she hadn't considered. "It's a type of Fire Magic, isn't it?" What had he called that spell? Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame? "He names his spells with a dragon theme. But, that couldn't mean..." Did... did dragons exist here too? Her eyes widened with momentary shock. "Lisanna... this world. It has dragons, doesn't it? And Natsu's magic... it's not normal Fire. It's something more..." An image of a flaming Grimm Dragon releasing hordes of fiery Beowulves, Death Stalkers, and all other manner of horrors filled her mind. The one they had dealt with that wasn't on fire was bad enough. There was no telling how strong a dragon with magic could be.

"We had dragons at one point. No one knows where they've gone." Lisanna said with a thoughtful expression. "But Natsu. He's the Fire Dragon Slayer. Dragon scales for protecting against flames. Dragon lungs for breathing flames. Dragon claws for carving flames. Dragon Slayer Magic is magic that transforms one's body into that of a dragon. It is the only type of magic known to be effective against dragons."

She sighed.

"Igneel is the one who taught Natsu that. Before he vanished of course."

The thought occurred to her that it was almost odd for a Dragon to know the type of magic that could slay it, but it did make sense if it was the only way to harm another dragon. Regardless, it spoke to Natsu's true power. This magic made his body inhuman, like a walking human-shaped dragon instead. Did that explain why he seemed to get so fired up about fighting? She thought back to Yang's bravado- probably not. If anything, that's a bruiser's thing. A trait the blonde and the pink haired boy had in spades. "Igneel... What happened with him? And the other dragons?" Huh. Hadn't Natsu mentioned something about finding Igneel? She was certain he had said something about how close the two were. Perhaps in the same vein as Ruby and Qrow. Student and Mentor, perhaps?

"Igneel was Natsu's foster father." Lisanna explained. "Natsu doesn't remember his birth parents, but he said he's known Igneel all his life. But one day, he up and vanished. And it seemed that all the other dragons did as well. July 777." She said, recounting the meaningful date. "But . . . there is still one dragon out there."

Her face became pale as she recalled him.

" . . . The Black Dragon of the Apocalypse. Acnologia. 7 years ago . . . he attacked our guild and it was only thanks to a last minute miracle that we survived. None of us, not even Laxus, Erza, Gildarts, Cinder or Master Makarov could damage him. He was completely unstoppable and all we could do was run. We were trapped in stasis for 7 years as a result."

She gripped her shorts.

"He's terrifying. And he did it all . . . for fun. He has no motives. He only wants to cause complete and utter destruction."

The torturous sadness carved into Lisanna's features made Blake's heart ache. The way her skin paled, the way she held on like a heavy wind would sweep her up... it reminded her all too well of how some people had reacted during the War. And, she realized, back at home. Before the White Fang became the hell that it ended up as. But this... Acnologia.. he was something more sinister. Salem had her reasons. This ... thing... had none. It made her absolutely disgusted, how could people do things like this? How could people be so... evil? "Lisanna?" Her tone was a tad shaky, and she hesitantly reached out to grasp both of the girl's pale hands.

"I promise you. We will do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen again. But please... don't give up hope. Hope... is the only force we have against insurmountable odds." Heh. Ruby's words had come to her lips again. She had said that speech about Hope not too long before their final battle with Salem. They had taken care of one Dark Lady. Defeating another Dark Lord... no matter how strong... was still possible. No one was invincible.

Lisanna didn't look Blake in the eyes, in fact. She was staring downward, unsure if she should share this next fact with her new friend. "Natsu told me something." She said quietly. "Something that he had learned during a little escapade of his when the Grand Magic Games were ongoing."

She raised her head and looked at the other with worried blue eyes.

"Acnologia . . . was once human. He was a Dragon Slayer just like Natsu and it was he who single handedly slayed a great majority of the dragons in the world. But that's not all. The fact that he's a dragon . . . it means that the final state of Dragon Slayer magic is losing your humanity completely. If Natsu isn't careful, he could end up just like Acnologia. A being who cares not about the race he was once part of and slays the race he joined."

An exhale.

"But . . . I know I have to trust in Natsu. He's always been there for me. Always been there for all of us. And I know that . . . with him around, everything will be all right."

She was unaware of how obvious she was making her crush on Natsu.

Blake Belladonna had lived with Yang, fought alongside Pyrrha, and spoke frequently with Neptune. Not to mention the hundreds of romance and erotic novels she had read. If there was one thing Blake knew about people, it was when they held a candle for another. And it wasn't all that difficult to see that the worry plaguing Lisanna was not due to mere friendship with the boy. She clearly had a thing for Natsu. As much as Pyrrha pined for Jaune, Neptune pined for Weiss, or Yang pined for anything with a pulse.

"Good. Keep that trust in Natsu. While he very well may end up turning into a full dragon, just like this Acnologia, he has something that that bastard doesn't. He's got you. He's got the others. He's got this guild." A small smile crooked the corner of her lip. "He _loves_ this place and everyone in it. If what you said is true and Igneel was his only family, then this guild really does act as his family. If Natsu were to ever lose sight of who he was, I don't think he'd be able to hurt anyone here. Especially people he cares about. Like you."

Blake ran her fingers through Lisanna's hair, just like her mother had for her when she was a kid. It had calmed her, put her at peace. And made her purr a bit. Perhaps it could help Lisanna. "I know Natsu's type. Too focused on fighting to really care about romance. My leader has some of that, I admit. But it doesn't mean he doesn't adore you. He came to find you, didn't he? He braved a new world because he wanted to find you. If that isn't love, I don't know what it is."

It took a full minute for Lisanna to process what Blake had just said and when she did, her face turned bright red. The fact that Blake was treating her like a schoolgirl with a crush on the coolest kid in the class wasn't helping.

"T-T-T-That's not true!" She stuttered, pathetically waving her arms as she tried to make up excuses. "H-H-He came to Edolas by chance. And I ended up coming home by chance. He wasn't looking for me. Nope. Not at all. And I don't like him! No way! Never!" She screeched at the other. "B-Besides. He rarely speaks to me anymore. S-So there's nothing like that between us, got it?"

Blake broke out into a fit of chuckles, her laughter jingling like bells. It was an honest laugh, one that had been silent for many months. She hadn't exactly had too long since they ended the War. They were just returning to the norm, and she hadn't really felt the need to actually laugh until now. Lisanna's reactions had been too damn adorable not to. She was almost crying by the time she managed to control herself. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she muttered, "Sorry, sorry. I just... That was the cutest reaction I had ever seen. You get more flustered than Ruby does! Hehee~."

She just booped the girl's nose. "If Natsu doesn't melt at the sight of someone as cute as you, I might just have to step in." Blake, now now. There's a time and a place for flirting. Though teasing this girl like she teased Yang would be absolutely hilarious.

"A-Anyways. We should focus on more important things." Lisanna said, waving the conversation topic away like it was some sort of dust cloud. "We need to get you to unlock your magic. And I think I know how to do that."

And that's when Lisanna decided to get one last shot in.

"Oh and. I'm not into girls. So. Tough~." She said while sticking out her tongue.

"Dammit. So close," Blake muttered under her breath. Curses! it wasn't fun if the girls weren't at least bi-curious. Then again, she did a solid job of making a few girls at Beacon realize they were also into women, but she doubted her skills would change anything about Lisanna.

It was best she just move on and focus her teasing on someone else. "Yeah, magic. What's on your mind? I can't exactly say I have any experience here. Even in my world, I only awakened my Aura because my father triggered it. Said I needed to be able to protect myself in the world outside. A lot of faunus parents awaken their kids' auras at a young age for that reason."

Lisanna rubbed her chin. "Hm. From everything you've said. I think there's a certain man who can help you." She said as she gazed upwards at the forest in the distance. "In the forest surrounding Magnolia, there's a swordsman who is very much one with nature. He doesn't belong to any guild, but he can give Erza a run for her money. From your upbringing to the way to fought in those videos. I feel like you might be able to connect with a guy like that."

Blake had begun her trek through those woods not long after Lisanna had given her the rundown, and yet.. she couldn't quite clear her mind. A man stronger than Erza, a living monster like her and Natsu and possibly even this world's Cinder. Beings like those with powers so potent they could have probably tackled the Grimm Dragon singlehandedly. But the real question the real reason she couldn't shake an odd feeling in her mind, was why did Lisanna think that this man could help? Just what about the way she fought made him a good fit? She had kept her face calm earlier, even as the questions plagued her, a mask she didn't even bother to remove by the time she was alone.

It had become almost too easy for her to hide behind a façade of indifference.

She walked without real direction. Lisanna had not pointed her any place specific, so she merely figured that he and her would cross paths eventually. Besides, her mind was too focused on those questions to really care.

"Careful now." A voice said suddenly. "Walking absentmindedly in these forests can lead to disaster."

There was a flash and standing in front of her was a man with short red hair and blood red eyes. He had pale skin and a white longcoat with black patterns all over it. He wore a black t-shirt and black pants with black boots. In his right hand was a katana and in his left, well, he didn't have one. He only had one arm.

"One more step and you'd have triggered its instincts." He said as he flicked his gaze to a massive Wyvern sleeping in a tree. "And it would have cut you down without you even having a chance to retaliate."

He turned his gaze back to her.

"I see. So you are experiencing it too." He said as he noticed the expression on her face. "The feeling that you're witnessing a ghost from the past."

Her instincts had not been dulled by the sudden onset of wandering, and she immediately turned to face the source of the voice, her sword half-drawn in its sheath. She looked over him for a brief moment, wondering if he was in fact the man he was looking for, before something shattered in the back of her mind.

She didn't even see the hulking draconic beast slumbering above her. She barely even heard the man speak. The man who looked almost like a carbon copy of Adam.

Her more logical side was promptly kicked in the rear end by fear and guilt, the face of the man she had killed with her own two hands. She would not kid herself. her slate was not entirely clean. But she had been spending the greater part of the last several years trying to do what she could to make amends. Taking Adam's life, while it may have been necessary, was still the taking of a life. And seeing someone who looked just like him made her guilt return like floodwaters breaking a damn.

"...Adam..."


	10. Awakening

"That is indeed my name." He said as he stepped forward. "And I would assume yours is Blake, is it not?"

He knew that his heart could not be playing a trick on him, not now. Not after all these years. Blake could not be alive. He had witnessed her die. And yet here she stood, right as rain.

"But assuming you are not the Blake that I know. I suppose I should introduce myself properly. I am Adam Citri and I am but a humble hermit living in these forests."

He was ready to fight if he had to, but he'd rather it not come to that.

"Are you perhaps a specter conjured up by black magic? A new Blake summoned by my guilt? Or are you something else entirely?"

...It wasn't him. It wasn't him. she told herself, forcing her eyes shut for a moment. It couldn't be him. She had killed him. Stabbed him right through the heart with the tip of his own shattered blade. This had to be a different him. The him from this world. If Cinder could exist here, then why not him? Yes, that was what it had to be. It was a far better thought than what he echoed, a ghost of the past back to haunt her.

"I'm... not... your Blake. And... you're not my Adam," she managed to force out, finally allowing her piercing amber eyes to meet his crimson. "If you are truly a hermit, then you walked a path that my Adam did not. His heart turned to darkness... nearly turned mine too..." A shaky hand held close to her chest- she could feel her heart beating rapidly. "... What happened to your Blake? Why... why are you guilty? ...Or are you just a mirage meant to terrorize me?" The tears started to stream, partially blurrying her vision.

"...I... I killed you!"

"My Blake." He said somberly. "Is dead."

"And perhaps. What you say has merit in it." He said as he walked through the streams of sunlight that made their way through the dense forest roof. "When she died, she took a piece of me with her. So you could say that she did kill me that day. But it was a death that led to a rebirth and a new path."

He stopped in his tracks, a soft smile gracing his lips.

"That was many years ago now. And though you are clearly not her. Looking at you brings me comfort. Comfort that I have not felt in a very long time. I am sorry if my presence alarms you or causes you pain. But know that it is not my intention."

He unsheathed his blade to reveal that the weapon was dull.

"I only wish to protect life, not destroy it."

Oh...

It was.. an odd feeling, really. Something like a sadness, but also distant. This Adam cared for his Blake, no doubt as much as she had cared for her Adam at first. To hear that the her in this dimension had died was... strange. She felt the sorrow any one would feel when someone they know deals with a loss, but it was made almost alien by knowing that the one who had died was another version of her. How similar were they? How different? Cinder was nothing like their Cinder. And this Adam... was nothing like hers.

The blade he wielded was dull. Blunt. A weapon not meant for cutting.

Blake silently sobbed, pulling her own sheathe off her back and running her fingers along the sharpened blade embedded in it- drops of her scarlet blood struck the forest floor. "...Adam and I... we had... we had wanted to hurt those that had hurt us... he had... he had my sheathe turned into a weapon... He... he wanted the whole world to burn. I did what I had to in order to save it... But... but I couldn't save him..." She quaked in place, half her face wreathed in the shadows of the trees.

"I was the same." He said suddenly, a somber smile on his face. "I too wanted to hurt those who hurt me. I too wanted to lash out against the world. But in the end, you did save me Blake. Even if it was another you. You made me realize how precious life was. And how much blood I had spilled."

He walked toward her, slowly at first, before quickly picking up speed.

"Fate has brought us together once more. Through the tides of time and mystery. We are on the same precipice."

He stopped mere inches away from her, looking her dead in the eyes.

"And you did save your Adam in the end. You set him free from his curse. The curse of hatred. Just . . . like I had to do with my Blake."

He had a glassy expression as he recalled that moment.

"It seems our roles were reversed."

A small gasp brought whatever air Blake had left in lungs out in the open. His story, his demeanor... it was so much like her own life. Her ledger died in red, her desire to atone. The ultimate fate of her loved one... The crimson eyes that had so often looked at her with bitterness and hate now stared at her with hope and affection.

"Adam..." The roles had reversed. The her of this world... had been just as dark, just as broken as the Adam of hers. He could understand what she had did in ways that no one else had.

She flung her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.

Adam was naturally surprised by this act and quickly pushed her away. But it was a gentle push.

"No." He said softly. "Your emotions are clouding your judgement. I am not your Adam. Your love for him is not for me."

He wiped some forming tears away from his eyes.

"Besides. One such as I is undeserving of love. There is still much I need to atone for."

Cheeks flushed pink at her little fau pa. "Y-yes," she stuttered, "It is very, ahem, improper of me to act like that." While it was true that this wasn't her Adam and that her feelings had been in some way displaced, there was one thing he said that she did not agree with.

"I'm... not as squeaky clean myself. In my world... Emerald and I acted as spies among Salem's forces during the latter part of the War. And even before then... I committed my fair share of crimes in order to help out the White Fang- the group I met my Adam in." She made sure to cover the extra definition just in case such an organization didn't exist here. This Adam lacked his bull horns, so he was not a Faunus and may not have needed to join the same group.

"I willingly made use of the darker skills I learned in the White Fang to help us in the War because I had people who needed me. People who believed me. My partner, my team leader, and her partner. The four of us have been supporting each other for years... and if they've taught me one thing... it's that no matter what you've done... if you're willing to atone, you deserve love."

While she wasn't going to kiss him again, she did pull him close, wrapping her arms around her waist in a tight embrace. She may have just met this Adam, but if he was anything like her, she knew just what he was doing to atone. How much effort he was putting in. Effort that should be recognized.

Unfortunately, their moment of closeness would not last as their confrontation had awakened the wyvern and it would have gotten a surprise attack had Lisanna not been following Blake out of worry .

She jumped into the fray and deflected one of it's talons with her cat claws. The force of its blow pushed her backwards and she landed on her feet, clearly having felt the blow quite severely.

"You're lucky I decided to follow you." She muttered.

"Always conflict. No matter the era." Adam said as he vanished and reappeared above the Wyvern. "Jaken Shiki Ryu: Rose Wind!" He said as blood red roses fluttered around him and he cleaved downward, slamming his blade into the beast's neck and sending it careening to the ground with a single blow.

"Do not interrupt a friendly conversation."

"Yep." Lisanna said. "He's the one who can match Erza all right."

Adam landed on the ground and sheathed his blade in one fluid motion before running his hand through his hair and slicking it back, causing it to take on a style reminiscent of the other him with the exception that he had a bang hanging down over his forehead.

"Where there is one, there is more. Be on your guard."

"Dammit," Blake cursed, Gambol Shroud's blake and sharpened sheathe already drawn in her slender hands. How had she missed that? She had made a promise to Ruby and the others to hone her instincts until her cat Faunus senses were practically a radar system. Had she really been that emotional with Adam to not notice an obvious threat? She couldn't even act for herself in time before Adam swept in with the grace of a fuckin dancer and beat the beast into the ground like some parent punishing a rowdy child.

It didn't exactly help that when he slicked his hair back like that her heart panged with a confused mix of attraction, hatred, disgust, and pity. Were her feelings toward her own Adam really that complex?

Blake shook the thought away. Without magic, she would have to fend for herself, in a way. She couldn't rely on her Aura to blunt blows or strengthen her cut. All she had were two finely crafted weapons and the training to use them.

Pity that she didn't know the sad fact that her blades would be useless against the draconic beast's tough magic-resistant scales.

"This is honestly such a pain." Adam muttered as he rest his blade on his shoulder, noticing that the other Wyvern had been notified and were coming their way. "I'm enjoying a reunion and all of a sudden fate doesn't want me to enjoy it. But that's how it's always been."

He stepped forward and all of a sudden a powerful wind kicked up.

"The winds of fate are constantly changing. But that's why I've learned to go with the flow."

"So it was true." Lisanna muttered. "The tales about the one-armed swordsman who rode the winds. In short, a wind mage who uses wind not to attack, but to increase his mobility."

Adam was hovering above the ground now, the wind acting as a platform for him as he adjusted his stance and prepared for battle.

"You're new to this place, are you not?" He asked the other Blake. "Then watch closely as I show you how to cut without cutting."

If Blake's feelings had not been so confused, perhaps she would have been more stunned by the way he so easily rode the wind. That style and grace was so unlike her old Adam, that perhaps it would have knocked some sense into her. But her mind was far too clouded with the emotions banging at the door to her heart.

What she felt for her Adam, what she felt for this Adam... where was the line? It made no true sense for her to feel any kinship with this man she had just met, much less should she have had the desire to kiss him, just because he looked like her ex.

But even then, what was the point of thinking about all that? She was a sitting duck in this damn forest. If Adam and Lisanna weren't there, she would have been mauled by the Wyvern without a moment's thought.

It was Adam's last command that finally broke her from her own self imposed trance. A spark of realization finally danced her eye as she shifted her gaze toward the man hovering like a leaf in the wind. To cut without cutting... All Adam cared about was cutting. This Adam... He's nothing like mine.

Maybe that's why she had kissed him. She knew he was not her Adam, but the traits he had displayed were everything she had wished her own Adam would have displayed.

Regardless of her feelings, though, he was trying to help her. Perhaps in more ways than her Adam had ever dared. It would be wise to watch and listen.

"Why do you fight?" He asked aloud. "Do you fight to win? To cut your opponents? To prove a point? To survive? Or do you fight to protect? To stand up for what you believe in?"

He pointed his blade outwards.

"These principles are what influences the weight of your blade, the weight of your swing. Your convictions. Shallow convictions will never be able to cut anything, regardless of the wound they leave."

He swung his katana downwards and slammed a Wyvern to the ground.

"With strong enough convictions, even a blunt blade . . . can cut."

A whirlwind swirled around his blade.

"Change your conviction into emotion and your emotion into magic. If your beliefs are strong enough, no shackles can contain you. Or perhaps . . . it's your beliefs that make up the shackles."

He glared at her then, but not with hatred. No, with an emotion that the other Adam could not have ever made.

_Compassion._

"Unleash yourself, Blake. And stop holding back."

What was the reason that she fought? Everything around her seemed to wink out of existence, as if nothing mattered but Blake and Adam, as if nothing mattered but the words her spoke that echoed through her mind as if they were her own thoughts.

What was the reason that she fought? Was it to escape or to atone? That had been how it started, yes. When she had first broken it off with Adam and the White Fang, all she had wanted to do was make up for the suffering and discord she had spread.

But had she really done that while studying at Beacon? Did she ever try to change what had happened? No. She stood there and hid while other Faunus were bullied and hurt out in the open. She sat there and did nothing while Weiss grew more and more like certain members of her family without ever daring to step in and tell her all she knew. Sure, Weiss ended up standing by Blake in the end, but it wasn't through any risks taken on Blake's part.

She was weak. A fool who let her own worries bind her. The bow she once wore wrapped up not just her cat ears, but the fighting spirit that laid dormant within. The same spirit that had led her to joining the White Fang and pursuing justice. That same spirit that had driven her to put her ill-gotten skills to use for the side of good.

But even in the War, she still hid behind her mask. She did not wear the old red and white painted Grimm mask anymore, but its effects were still there. She still stayed quiet, she still buried all of her emotions.  
As close as she was to Ruby and Yang and Weiss, as much as she would call them her family... She had never deigned to open up to them. Never told them about her past. Never told them about the nightmares she still has every so often about the lives she took.

She saw herself standing with Adam, their masks hiding their emotions as they slaughtered humans one by one... The hate emanating through the eye slits in Adam's mask still haunted her to this day.

_"Unleash yourself, Blake. And stop holding back."_

His words echoed through her mind with a cacophonous roar, blocking out every other thought. The image of her and Adam shattered, replaced by the gleam of pure, unbridled compassion channeled through Adam's deep red eyes.

Eyes like pools of blood, but not in the same ways as her Adam's. Her Adam had eyes like the crimson spray following the slash of a sword. This Adam's eyes looked like pools of living blood pumped through the body. Her Adam's eyes looked like Death. This Adam's eyes looked like Life.

The wyvern he had struck down rose on its haunches. The man above it was too clever, attacking him would be foolish. But the girl. She was a ripe target.

As if it was all playing out in slow motion, Blake felt more than saw the beast rise and charge at her.

What could she do? She was powerless here. her only hope was to rely on Adam or-

She had always relied on him. He taught her, he guided her, he had been the one she blamed for all the terrors they had committed. She had never taken the responsibility. Never fully.

The piece of herself that had been with him, her bloodstained past...

She had never properly accepted it.

Her past... Yes, she had hurt so many people. And yes, she wanted to atone for it. But she had never once believed she was allowed to have her own happiness. She spurned potential friends, pushed everyone away from her. And she hid what she had once held such pride in.

What was the point in that? Even after so much had changed, was she still willing to be that foolish little girl? What use was finally facing Adam if she was just going to go right back to hiding like some kind of scaredy-cat?

No. Never again.

She could see it now. The reason that she fought.

Ruby's cheeky little grin.

Yang's wide and infectious smile.

Weiss' sly little smirk.

And Adam's gaze full of compassion and hope.

That was what she fought for.

"I want to see your smiling faces again..."

In that moment, Blake's eyes burned with violet fire, a well of energy she had no idea she possessed rose up within her, coating her body in shiny purple gleam. This aura exuded such a force that her hair billowed in the winds and the ground started to crack beneath her feet.

She tossed aside Gambol Shroud. It would not be needed.

She met the wyvern's charge head on, thrusting her open palm forward at the moment before it would impact. But there would never be an impact, as the moment she thrust out, the beast was met with a whirling wall of intense winds that stopped it in its tracks.

Cocking her other fist back, she shot upward with a potent uppercut- But the beast was still several feet away. How was a close ranged attack supposed to.

The force behind her attack created a buffeting gust of wind that smacked the wyvern in the chin with enough blunt force to cut its scaly lip and send it flying high into the sky.

Adam couldn't help but smile. "You met my expectations perfectly. But did you really have to be so dramatic about it?"

Lisanna chuckled slightly. "A flair for overdramatics is kind of par for the course when it comes to being a Fairy Tail mage. She might be new, but she already fits in perfectly."

Though to be honest, Lisanna was feeling quite bad. She had been assigned to be Blake's mentor and in the end it wasn't even her who helped Blake awaken her magic. Sure, she had pointed Blake in this direction but she couldn't help but feel out of place here. Blake clearly had the potential to be stronger than her and Adam was already leagues beyond her.

Why did Cinder assign her to this role? Couldn't he have found someone better?

Lisanna was so busy mulling over her own insecurities that she failed to notice the smaller Wyvern sneaking up behind her. At least until she felt its talon piece through her, the metallic object sticking through her chest.

"Eh?" She muttered in disbelief as she looked down, a trickle of blood spilling from her mouth before the beast removed its weapon and Lisanna fell forward into a slowly growing puddle of blood.

He had just barely missed her heart, but that didn't make it any better. She was in critical condition.

She felt tears well up in her eyes as the strength left her body. Her emotions a mixture of fear and anger.

_Why?_ She thought to herself. _Why am I so damn useless? Why . . . can't I be more like Natsu? I've always been a burden. I can't . . . do anything right. Maybe it's better if I die here. Maybe this was what I deserved._

And that's when she heard his voice. It was Natsu.

_'Are you going to just lay there and take it?'_

It was a memory of a time when she had gotten hurt while playing outside. He had encouraged her to get up and keep going. He had filled her with the resolve to not give up.

_'I'm counting on you, Lisanna. You've got my back, don't you?'_

Her fingers twitched as she began to push herself upwards in spite of the pain. He was right. She had to be there for him. And for three years, she had broken that promise.

With a painful scream, she forced herself to her feet and turned around to glare at the Wyvern.

"I am a Fairy Tail Wizard." She spat out. "I won't lose to you."

She felt his courage. It was almost contagious. Natsu would never let something like this bring him down. No matter how badly he was hurt. No matter how scared he might have been.

Just then, her right fist became coated in a brilliant blue flame.

She had learned this magic because she wanted to be close to him. Because she wanted to support him.

She dashed forward and slammed her fist into the Wyvern, sending it flying backward into a few dozen trees.

"Showed you." She said before stumbling and using a tree to support herself.

"I refuse . . . to be second fiddle ever again."

Only when the light faded from her eyes did Blake realize just how much of a toll fighting like that had taken on her body. Letting out a large breath, she staggered a little toward Gambol Shroud and sheathed the weapon, merely sticking it at the ground as a means to maintain her balance for a moment.

As much as she had treated her weapon in the past s an extension of herself, she realized it wasn't that at all. Gambol Shroud was not her weapon. It was a weapon made for her, yes, but Adam had designed it and tasked her with learning to use it.

If she truly wanted to be free of her past, she needed to not just accept it. She needed to accept it and move forward. Wonder if there was a magical blacksmith who could help her turn this weapon into something more suitable to her?

Nevertheless, she found herself cracking a genuine smile at the grin Adam gave her and the chuckle from Lisanna. Seems she was going to fit in quite well.

A shame that she did not catch the Wyvern either, before it was too late. A talon straight through the chest of her friend- Such a sight didn't even seem real at first. Her senses screamed at her to move, but her body failed to respond.

_No... Dammit. Move... Move!_ She couldn't... she couldn't let her new friend get hurt this easily! What good was her power if she couldn't protect others?

But it would seem that she shouldn't be so negative. In her moment of need, Lisanna struck on her own and fought back despite her injuries. Injuries that would have knocked a Remnantian out of the fight for a good long while.

Endless determination truly was the power of a Fairy Tail Wizard.

And that's why Blake wasn't going to just stand there either.

"Lisanna!" Her voice was a mix of awe and worry as Blake finally managed to move, stumbling toward the tree to offer her own hand. Her senses may have dulled without aura, but she had spent a fair amount of time working as field medics. She would be able to find out how much time they had left.

Blake dared to brush her pale fingers along the woman's shoulder, forcing what remained for her catlike senses to listen for her heartbeat, to follow the path of her blood. "We need... to get you some medical care."

"Adam." Uncharacteristic worry plagued Blake's visage. She broke away from his gaze to rip a length of cloth from her own shirt to aid in temporarily bandaging up the wound, applying pressure. "The wyvern nicked her heart. If we don't get her to a hospital quick..."

Adam made his way over to the injured girl and gently pushed Blake aside. "We don't have anything called hospitals here. We have medics, sure. But at the rate she's bleeding out, she'll die before we get her to one of them."

He held out an outstretched palm, the hand hovering just over Lisanna's injury. He had learned this ability from watching that young Sky Dragon Slayer fight. An ability that he didn't think he'd need to use this soon.

Gentle wisps of wind rushed around them as a green glow enveloped his hand and slowly but surely began to heal Lisanna's injury.

"Magic . . . can be used for more than just hurting things." He said softly. "It can also be used to protect. To heal. To give life, rather than steal it away."

Soon enough, the injury had been completely healed and Lisanna had fallen into Blake's embrace, sleeping peacefully.

Adam stood back and sighed with relief. "Unfortunately, I don't have much skill with that sort of magic. So it takes a lot out of me. We'd best get out of Wyvern territory before any more of them show up."

Fighting as long as she had on the battlefield, Blake almost didn't want to let go of Lisanna. She had lost one too many allies in the heat of battle because some sort of aid was not given immediately. It was only his caring gaze that prevented her from grasping the woman even tighter. Besides, he likely knew some better healing method than she did.

Blake couldn't use her aura to stabilize her like she could in Remnant. She wasn't doing anything for Lisanna just sitting there.

Though it did come as a surprise to her that Adam possessed some sort of healing ability- As odd as it sounded, she hadn't exactly realized that magic could be used to heal. It made perfect sense now that she thought about it, but she hadn't considered it when she had normally seen people blasting each other in the face or punching each other in the stomach.

Blake held her friend close, thankful that she would be okay. It felt like the weight of years of fighting had been lifted off of her. Maybe it was wrong to equate the near death of a new friend to the time she spent in the War, but it was hard to fully divorce herself from those experiences.

"Yeah... we should go. Just do one thing for me, okay, Adam? Can you teach me that healing magic? I want to be prepared next time."

She would not let anyone fall.

"On one condition." Adam said as he sheathed his blade and placed it back on his waist. "That condition being that you promise me there won't be a next time. Rather than prepare for the worst, you should fight for the best. Instead of saying, 'I'll heal my comrades.' You should say 'I'll make sure my comrades don't get hurt.' It's not you might suffer causalities, it's that you won't suffer any."

He gave her a smile.

"I don't know about the land you come from. But this place is much more of a glass half full world."

"Rather than prepare for the worst, you should fight for the best..." She muttered his words back to him, an odd indescribable look in her amber eyes. It was such an odd way to think. She had been raised under the fear that humans had for her people, under the hatred and destruction they wrought.

And then there were the Grimm. People without training feared for their lives every day. And even on the battlefield, those trained to fight and survive... the blade of a Huntsman struck not with a desire to protect, but with the fear that they would die. Perhaps it was not always common. Perhaps it was something anyone realized. But Blake was no stranger to fear and swallowing it.

Perhaps it started as a means to draw them out. Channel fear, use it to call the Grimm toward you instead of those who couldn't defend themselves. But that's just what they said to convince themselves.

"My land... We are a people controlled by fear. We let our borders be defined by the paths that Grimm take... It's... a life built on survival. Happy moments are rare and far between. A glass half full is a bit... difficult for me to accept."

Her lips curled into a small smile, one powered by a fledgling hope that made a purple flames almost dance in her eye. "But I want to accept it. I want to feel that hope again. Seeing everyone smile... it's what drove me to awaken that power. I don't think it will be possible for me to ever consider the glass half empty again."


End file.
